When Galaxies Collide
by MoKidd
Summary: This is just for fun, but let me know what you guys think. The maiden voyage of an Imperial Star Destroyer, a strange distress signal from the far reaches of space, a new first officer fresh out of the Stormtrooper Corps. What could possibly go wrong?
1. Chapter 1

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First Officer's Log

Commander Daren Jarro

Time: 1300 hours

Date: CLASSIFIED

My first day of duty so far has been uneventful. I reported for duty at 0800 hours after settling into my quarters and Captain Barron has, thus far, been cordial. He seems like a an able and competent commanding officer so far, albeit with the same general swagger and overconfidence that I've come to expect from these new Imperial officers. We had our share of them back in the Republic days, but this new crop are something altogether different. They're confident to the extreme and supremely convinced of their own authority, and rightly so, but there is a fine line between confident and pompous that most of this new breed seem to toe very tentatively.

As for the ship herself, I couldn't be more proud of my new posting. I've served on a few of the old battle cruisers and seen firsthand what they could do against the likes of the Trade Federation and the Seperatist fleets, but these new _Imperial_ cruisers are in a class of their own. These babies carry enough armament to put an entire fleet of Old Republic cruisers to shame, have shields and armor that can stop just about anything that anyone in the galaxy can throw at us, and engines that are a marvel to see.

The _Coruscant_ is a fine ship, the marvel of the Imperial Navy and a testament to the skill of her builders. They're already saying that these Star Destroyers, as the men are calling them now, will soon completely replace the old Republic ships and bring the fleet into this new era of the Empire. It's an exciting time to be a soldier, with new weapons, new ships, new technology, and now even an entirely new army made up of human recruits rather than clones. It's been ten years since the Clone Wars ended and I suppose it's time to update the military in the wake of all these campaigns that the Emperor has sent us out on. I fought beside the clones for a long time and they were top notch fighting men, but the Kaminoans did their job too well. That accelerated aging of theirs has rendered them all old and obsolete and there are still plenty of enemies out there to fight. It's good that we have some young blood getting into the fray.

The bridge of _Coruscant_ is state of the art in every way. Sensors, weapons, engineering, the command post, every station contains the most advanced controls and communications systems available and the officers and crew are among the best in their field. I was told when I was offered this posting that I would be working with a crop of young recruits fresh from the academy with only a few of the old warhorses like me and the Captain leading the way. They were very young, some of them barely eighteen or twenty, but they were calm, professional, and well trained, just what I expected from the Emperor's military. From the bridge crew to the crewmen even down to the new foot soldiers, the Stormtroopers, every man jack of them are a credit to the Empire.

I came onto the bridge at 0800 hours and was greeted by the sight of the bridge crew in full swing. Captain Barron was on the command deck overseeing operations, and when I came in he turned and faced me with the all the bearing and grace of a commanding officer.

I had heard of Captain Leonidas Barron before, but this was the first time I had ever seen him up close. He was a tall man, as tall as me, and although not especially broad he was a fit man for his years. His hair was a dark brown and parted in the regulation style and when I saw him later without his cap I saw that there was a streak of grey near the temples. His brusqueness was entirely military, his stance as straight as an arrow, and when he spoke his voice was deep and booming with authority. His uniform was spotless and his boots had a mirror shine. My own were just a little dingy, having been neglected for the four days it took for me to get to Alderaan and the rendezvous point, and they were only slightly less polished. I had always been a little less of a martinet than most command-level officers, much to the chagrin of my peers at times.

Captain Barron: "Commander Jarro, it's a relief to see that you are punctual. I despise laggards. What is that?"

He pointed at the long knife on my belt in the carved leather sheath, the bone handle and golden hilt shining with a high sheen. The sheath was decorated in Wookie symbols and characters and was capped in gold, a chief's weapon.

Commander Jarro: "Oh, this? Just a little souvenir I picked up on Kashyyk."

Captain Barron: "You are aware that regulations do not specify that weapons be carried on the bridge by senior officers, are you not?"

Commander Jarro: "It doesn't exactly forbid it, either. It's kind of a grey area."

Captain Barron: "I see that you will be an interesting man to work with. Now that you have arrived, I suggest that we get underway. The rest of the senior staff has already reported in and the Imperial Command has already issued our orders. We are to report to the Saccaris Cluster to investigate a mysterious signal and to patrol for Rebel activity."

Commander Jarro: "Saccaris? That's almost the Unknown Reaches. I didn't think the Rebels had anything that far out."

Captain Barron: "That is what we are being sent to investigate, Commander. Shall we get underway?"

Commander Jarro: "I would love to, sir. Helm, all ahead two-thirds. Set course for the Saccaris Cluster. Stand by to make the jump to lightspeed. Stand by Operations and Tactical stations. Engine Room, are we prepared for lightspeed?"

Engineer: "Standing by for your word, sir."

Commander Jarro: "Excellent. We are ready to get underway on your order, Captain."

Captain Barron: "Very good, Commander. Helm, set course and engage. Engine Room, the word is given."

Even from the window of the bridge, it was an awesome and inspiring sight to see the _Coruscant_ leaving her berth and gliding into the far reaches of space with an ease and grace that defied her immense size. I could almost see the wonderful mechanizations and movements of the crew working in perfect sync as the huge beast in which we stood fired up her engines and began to move. I felt the engines come to life and the slight vibration of the hull as we started off, heard the chatter of the bridge crew as they called out statuses and repeated orders and transmissions from various stations. All the departments reported in, the control panels read all green, and in a moment we were flying out into the outer rings of the Alderaan system. Commands were given and repeated, the engines rumbled and vibrated deep in the bowels of the ship, and I watched the stars stretch into long lines and the heavens opened up as the hyperdrive came alive and sent us hurtling into deep space. I do believe that I'm going to enjoy this posting.

Captain's Log

Captain Leonidas Barron

Time: 1300 hours

Date: CLASSIFIED

Upon first impression, I must say that I am impressed with my new ship. The _Coruscant_ and her crew have performed well and have shown great promise. We are now one week out of Alderaan on our maiden voyage and have already run two tactical drills in which the crew have showed themselves to be very capable. They still have some rough edges that need polishing, but I am confident that I will have them properly broken in by the time we reach Saccaris. The ship herself is a marvel. In all my years, I have never seen a finer example of shipbuilding prowess than in these new _Imperial_ Star Destroyers. I have commanded four vessels in my career, all of them Decatur class cruisers, but now I look forward to a grand new era in the Imperial fleet.

On a personal note, I am somewhat troubled by my new first officer. His record is exemplary and he performs his duties well, however his demeanor leaves something to be desired. Several times I have caught him fraternizing with the enlisted men. I suppose it is to be expected from a former field commander. While such behavior is unbecoming of a command officer, the crew seem to have come to like him and are warming up to him. His reputation is no doubt well deserved. I know that we will have need of such a man where we are going, so I suppose that I shall have to grow accustomed to such things.

First Officer's Log

Commander Daren Jarro

Time: 1000 hours

Date: CLASSIFIED

It has been a month since we left Alderaan and thus far the company and crew of the _Coruscant_ have performed admirably. I have found several older members of the crew that I served alongside on Kashyyk and a few other places. Fine old chaps, every one of them. The captain doesn't like that I talk to the men and occasionally fraternize with them, but for a man like me I guess decorum comes second to the bonds of combat. Men follow officers that they trust and nothing fosters trust like a good example and a little mud, blood, and blaster smoke.

This morning I was called into the captain's office beside the bridge and was treated to tea with my commanding officer, a ritual that I have noticed he generally performs alone, and I was happy to be invited. I knew it was more than a social visit. The captain calling anyone into his office is a rare thing and when he does it is very seldom for anything other than official business.

Captain Barron: "Commander Jarro, please take a seat."

Commander Jarro: "Thank you, sir."

Captain Barron: "I understand that you have become quite attached to certain members of the crew recently. I have also noticed that you insist on wearing that knife on your belt despite my many requests to the contrary. I have decided that the time has come for us to have a discussion regarding your conduct in these matters.

"I have examined your record, Commander, and I must say that I am impressed at your commendations. Imperial Medal of Valor, Gold Victory Star, four Crimson Hearts, very impressive. You earned them in the Kashyyk campaign, yes?"

Commander Jarro: "Yes, sir. I was in the 387th Legion under General Ronan."

Captain Barron: "From what I've read, Lord Vader himself gave you your promotion. I am impressed, Commander, I really am, but there are certain things that are different aboard a starship than in the field. Socializing with the enlisted men may be fine on the front lines, but here in the Navy it is frowned upon. I've also heard reports of you spending your free time in the enlisted lounge rather than the officer's club. It is not proper for an officer of your stature to fraternize with the lower ranks in such a manner."

Commander Jarro: "Captain, if I may speak freely, things are much different in the field than aboard a cruiser. In the field, officers were expected to associate with their men. The troopers had to be able to trust their officers to keep them alive and lead them to victory in battle. The men have to know that their leaders understand their position and that they will be there with them when things get hairy. I may be unaccustomed to life aboard ship, but I am learning quite quickly. I socialize with the enlisted men because I understand them and because they understand me. I've lived in the mud and blood just like they have and I've burned out my share of power packs on the front lines. My first commander used to say something that has stuck with me over the years: 'Never forget the little man.' It's the little men that give us our position and we would do well to remember that.

"As for this knife, it's been on my belt for the past three years. I took it off of a Wookie warrior who had every intention of gutting me like a fish with it. We were fighting through the Lebacca Forest and he came out of nowhere. Another second and he would have had me, but a lucky shot from a private fresh out of the academy stopped him in time for me to put him down. That enlisted man saved my life, captain. An enlisted man saved the life of an officer that on this ship would barely give him the time of day. A week after that he was dead from a sniper with a bowcaster that we never knew was there. I carry this to remind me of how close I came and why I'm still here."

Captain Barron: "I suppose I can understand that. My point is that there is a certain decorum that is to be followed on a ship of the line such as this one. I have to know that I can count on the officers under my command to conduct themselves according to their rank. The men have to count on us, but they also have to know who is in charge. I only ask that you refrain from socializing with enlisted personnel so often. I would have thought that you would have been briefed on this when they transferred you to this ship."

Commander Jarro: "They didn't transfer me, sir. I asked for this posting."

Captain Barron: "Interesting. Well, from now on, at least carry it in a regulation sheath. You can draw one from Supply."

I believe that we have reached a mutual understanding, the captain and I, and I have followed his demands to the letter. Supply had a sheath that fits my knife rather well and I have started going to the officer's lounge more often. While the company is not as colorful, I find that the selection is much more varied.

Captain Leonidas Barron

Time: 1100 hours

Date: CLASSIFIED

Let it be stated in the ship's record that on this day of [REDACTED] we have engaged in our first military action against the Rebel Alliance. We have entered the [REDACTED] system, three weeks from the Saccaris Cluster, and our long range sensors have picked up two Venator-class cruisers on an intercept course. They are registered as the _Dauntless_ and the _Vindicator_ , both recorded as having defected to the Rebel cause two months ago. I am acquainted with Captain Langridge of the _Dauntless,_ a fine man and a gifted commanding officer, from our days at the academy together. It is hard to believe that such as he has defected to these Rebel scum, but it seems that so many officers have gone over to their side in the past year that there are fears of a depletion of the old Venator-class fleet. These new Star Destroyers have yet to be tested against the older battle cruisers. Perhaps this could prove to be an enlightening experience.

Automated Computer Transcript: _Coruscant_ bridge

Helmsman: "Enemy ships closing, captain. They've deployed into battle formation Omnicron 2 and have raised their forward deflector shields."

Captain Barron: "Raise ours as well. Sound general quarters, all hands to battle stations. Tactical Operations, what is their current status?"

Operations Officer: "They are at full combat readiness, sir. Sensors show minor damage to the aft sections of the _Dauntless_ and the _Vindicator_ 's hyperdrive appears to be nonoperational."

Captain Barron: "Very good, ensign."

Communications Officer: "Sir, the commander of the _Dauntless_ is signaling us. He is requesting our immediate surrender."

Captain Barron: "Insolent bastard! Comms, order three fighter squadrons to focus on the _Vindicator_. Helm, set course for the _Dauntless_. Tactical, target their shields and hyperdrive systems. Lock all cannons and proton –"

[torpedo/blaster impacts to dorsal shield grid, SHIELD STRENGTH 85%]

Captain Barron: "Return fire, all weapons. Helm, evasive action."

Tactical Officer: "Direct hits, captain. We've disabled their forward deflector shields."

Captain Barron: "Prepare a volley of proton torpedoes. Target their primary reactors."

[blaster impacts on dorsal and ventral shield grids, SHIELD STRENGTH 72%]

[volley of 6 proton torpedoes fired. Primary reactor _Dauntless_ destroyed. Target destroyed]

Tactical Officer: "Target destroyed, sir."

Commander Jarro: "Status of the _Vindicator_?"

Tactical Officer: "Our fighters have disabled their aft deflector shields and most of the enemy's squadrons. Their hyperdrive is still inoperative."

Captain Barron: "Bring us about, ready all weapons. Target their engines and life support systems. Concentrate fire on the aft sections. Commander, prepare boarding parties and landing craft. Tell the Stormtroopers to be prepared for a zero atmosphere environment."

Commander Jarro: "You mean to take her as a prize?"

Captain Barron: "Precisely, commander. She will make a fine trophy to bring home to the Emperor. If we can capture the commanders and staff alive, so much the better."

Commander Barron: "Aye, sir."

[batteries 4, 8 and 12 concentrate fire on aft sections _Vindicator_ , engines destroyed]

Tactical Officer: "Targets destroyed, sir. Enemy vessel is dead in the water."

Commander Barron: "Boarding craft away, sir."

Captain Barron: "Very good, commander. She's as good as ours."

First Officer's Log

Commander Daren Jarro

Time: 1800 hours

Date: CLASSIFIED

Our first action against the Rebel Alliance has been a success, if a bittersweet one. Our boarding parties entered the _Vindicator_ through several docking ports and quickly fought their way through the ship to the bridge. The officers and crew had defected to the Rebel cause, but the contingent of Stormtroopers that was aboard were apparently either killed or cast off ship somewhere down the line, so resistance was relatively light. Only minor casualties: fifteen men wounded and four killed in the boarding parties, twenty-one fighters destroyed in the dogfight before boarding. Once we had taken the bridge, the captain activated the self-destruct sequence before our men could stop him. Thankfully our parties were able to make it out in time with the HVIs in tow and managed to disembark before the ship was destroyed. We're uncertain as to just how many casualties were inflicted on the enemy, however a Venator-class cruiser has a standard crew compliment of over seven thousand men.

Captain Barron is in high spirits. Every commander enjoys the rush of victory, especially on his ship's maiden voyage. We have contacted the Admiralty with news of our little skirmish and they have extended their congratulations on our victory. We have reported our prisoners and they have ordered us to complete our mission to Saccaris before transferring them to our sister ship, the _Geonosis_ , which is currently en route to rendezvous with us in the Talerian system. We have resumed course for the Saccaris Cluster.

Captain's Log

Captain Leonidas Barron

Time: 1700 hours

Date: CLASSIFIED

I could not be more proud of my ship or my crew in the aftermath of our engagement in the [REDACTED] system. Both the _Vindicator_ and the _Dauntless_ were, regrettably, lost with all hands. I had hoped to take one of the two vessels as a prize for his Excellency, but Captain Regis has, as always, proved to be an able and courageous commander. He managed to activate the self-destruct system on his vessel rather than allow her to be captured and put up a courageous fight before he himself was taken prisoner and brought back aboard the _Coruscant_. From the reports I have read, the good captain took four blaster bolts set on stun before he was finally incapacitated.

We have resumed our previous heading for the Saccaris Cluster, per the orders of the Admiralty, and upon completion of our mission there we will be transferring Captain Regis and his crew to the captain of the Star Destroyer _Geonosis_ to be then taken to a proper Imperial detention center. All in all, I would call our maiden voyage a resounding success thus far.

On a personal note, I personally mourn the death of my former colleague Captain Langridge of the cruiser _Dauntless_. We went to the Academy together, back when it was the Republic Fleet Academy, and although we were never great friends we were often competitors in the many sporting events that were hosted at the Academy grounds. Even then he was a gifted officer and able commander. He commanded a squadron of cruisers during the Clone Wars and had many victories to his credit. It is astounding that such a seasoned and able officer could be a traitor and a defector to the Rebel Alliance. These are dark times indeed if men such as Langridge could be enticed to betray his oath and his Emperor for such as the Rebels. Thankfully we have struck a hard blow against the Alliance in the destruction of those two ships. They were the only two real battle cruisers known to be in the possession of the Rebel Alliance. Their loss could have an immeasurable impact on the war effort. I mourn the loss of Langridge and his crew, but I also remember that they had it coming to them after their treachery. It is a sad day when a man must murder his friends in the name of duty, but such is the burden of a captain.

First Officer's Log

Commander Daren Jarro

Time: 0900 hours

Date: CLASSIFIED

It's been a week since the battle at the [REDACTED] system. We have been interrogating the prisoners from the _Vindicator_ and have had little success. Captain Regis, in particular, has been extremely resistant to our interrogation techniques. I've seen some tough men in my day, some damn tough men, but this Regis is by far the toughest I have ever seen. I've seen men go into an interrogation chamber and come out in tears and begging for mercy, men that in battle would have killed a dozen men with their bare hands without breaking a sweat. Any man that can resist our methods for that long is a man worthy of my respect and any other man's, for that matter.

What little he has said has been cryptic, to say the least. We've asked him hundreds of questions about the movements of Rebel forces and the locations of their bases and outposts, all of which he has vehemently refused to answer in any way, but when we questioned him about the recent events in the Saccaris Cluster, namely the disappearance of our colonies there, he was surprisingly forthcoming. He has said that they, too, had noticed a loss of communications from the Outer Rim colonies in Saccaris but adamantly insists that the Alliance had nothing to do with it. In fact, he claims that the _Dauntless_ and the _Vindicator_ were on their way to investigate for themselves when they encountered us, meaning to ascertain whether or not their suspicions of some Imperial activity in the system were correct. Upon learning that we had no significant military forces anywhere near Saccaris, he was somewhat perplexed.

I have to admit that I am somewhat concerned about this mission myself. I've taken the liberty of researching the colonies in question and it appears that they are as unremarkable as they are remote. The Saccaris Cluster has been colonized for well over a thousand years and has been a major source of bacta and other raw materials, but aside from a few small mining operations and one small garrison of less than fifty security officers, there really isn't much there. It appears that the one and only redeeming feature of the Saccaris colonies are that they happen to be one of the most remote colonies maintained in the galaxy. They are located at the very edge of the Outer Rim, well beyond the likes of even Tattooine or Jakku, and are so far out that they are practically in the Unknown Reaches beyond the borders of the galaxy. I've heard of plans to send expeditions into the Unknown Reaches to explore for new territory, new races, possibly even an entirely new galaxy. It's an intriguing prospect, to say the least. Who knows what my lurk out there in the darkness between galaxies? Who knows what we might find out there . . . . or what might come looking for us.

Captain's Log

Captain Leonidas Barron

Time: 1050 hours

Date: CLASSIFIED

The situation with Captain Regis has grown increasingly tiresome. His refusal to cooperate with our interrogators has proven to be cumbersome, most notably his reluctance to divulge the whereabouts and movements of Rebel forces in the area. As a command level officer and commander of one of their strongest warships, he is undoubtedly privy to that information. His subordinates have been much more cooperative, but they have far less information to offer. His first officer told us of a meeting with three Mon Calamari vessels a week before our engagement, but he was nonspecific as to their armament or destination.

On an interesting note, the first officer did have something to say about the colonies at the Saccaris Cluster. He said that they lost contact with the settlements in the system at about the same time that we did, but that they have received several transmissions from that direction over the past several weeks. He said that the transmissions were always the same, a binary code of some sort that alternates the same message over and over again but that they were unable to decode. He mentioned something about voices, about "the voices in the dark" or something to that effect. I would like to interrogate him myself, but unfortunately our interrogators were a little too good at their job in this particular instance. The good Commander died from the shock last night and had to buried in space. No great loss. After all, traitors deserve no better.

Letter – ISD _Coruscant_ to Naboo City, Naboo

Coded for transmission to [REDACTED] from Captain Jared Regis, ISD _Vindicator_

Dearest Karyn,

I hope that this letter finds you and the boys well and that they have been courteous with you in informing you of my treachery. I know I should have told you of my decision to join the Rebel Alliance, but there were too many variables to consider and too many risks that would have been brought down on you and our sons. I meant to have you come and join me once we were secured enough to sneak you off world. I wish now that I had brought you all with me in the first place.

They have been questioning me, but I am fine. I refuse to tell them anything that will betray my comrades in arms or that would result in the massacre of our forces. They must not be allowed to get a hold of that information. If they come to you and try to tell you that I am a traitor, don't listen to them. Don't let the boys listen to them, either. If I don't make it home, I want them to know that their father died a hero for the Republic.

They are heading somewhere now. I don't know where, but from their questions I can take a wild guess. I write this to you knowing full well that, more than likely, neither me or any of these Imperial pigs will ever make it back from this mission. They've lost contact with their colonies somewhere on the Outer Rim and they are going to find out what happened. It would be better if they just stayed away. I don't know what happened there, but I know that it is nothing good. Something or someone destroyed those settlements. It's someone that doesn't want to be discovered or chased and someone that knows better than to arouse the Empire's suspicions. They will get what's coming to them.

With all my love, Jared

First Officer's Log

Commander Daren Jarro

Time: 1030 hours

Date: CLASSIFIED

We've intercepted the first of the transmissions. It's just as the first officer of the _Vindicator_ said, a binary code on a hyperspace frequency that would travel ten times faster than a standard transmission. We use a similar frequency sometimes, but only in times of emergency. The code is unlike any we have ever seen before and there are no known matches in any of our databases. Captain Barron postulates that it is some newly created code used by the Rebels, although I have my doubts. In my experience the Rebels tend to use either a variation of our own codes or something similar to them, sometimes even older or obscure Imperial or Republic codes. Most of their officers and commanders are defectors from or former veterans of the Imperial or Republic forces. I've never seen a code like this before myself, and I've seen most of those used by the Rebel Alliance, and quite frankly I doubt that any of their people have the skill or the expertise to create such a code. Hell, the _Coruscant_ has some of the best communications personnel in the fleet and even they can't make heads or tails of it.

One thing is for certain, whatever message this mysterious code contains was not meant for us or anyone else to read. The characters are much too complex and do not conform to any known language or method of communication. Not even TR-116, our tactical liaison droid, has any known record of such a language. He claims to be programmed with over six million forms of communication and over two million tactical and operational files. I've never liked droids, personally. I've fought my share of them and I've worked around them before, but something about them just makes me uneasy.

Captain Barron has dismissed the transmission as either background noise or some kind of message from the Rebels to their cohorts in Saccaris or some neighboring system and is now more convinced than ever that the Rebel Alliance is somehow behind the mystery of the silent colonies in the Saccaris Cluster, but I am still skeptical. None of this makes any sense anymore. A Rebel takeover or defection in the Cluster would have been announced somehow, we would have seen military movement in the area, or the good Captain Regis would have shown more pause in his interrogations. He has still not given up any information whatsoever about the Cluster or the strange "voices" that his first officer claimed to hear. It is crucial that we obtain some form of knowledge from him. As it sits, he is one of the last surviving members of the _Vindicator_ 's senior staff. Three of his fellow officers have already succumbed to the methods of our interrogators. So far they have had no luck with the good captain. I think that tomorrow I will pay Regis a visit and try a different method of my own.

Security Transcript – Detention Block, ISD _Coruscant_

Date: CLASSIFIED

[ _Security access code: Cmdr Jarro AJ22390 Level B, Cell 278]_

Commander Jarro: Good afternoon, captain. You don't look so well. Hungry? I just picked this up at the mess hall. I'm not exactly sure what it is, but the chef it was something from Kamino that the Emperor really likes, so I thought I would give it a try.

Captain Regis: Go to hell, Jarro. Your torturers couldn't make me talk. Dangling food in front of me won't do the trick.

Commander Jarro: I'm not dangling anything in front of you. I haven't eaten all day and I was on my here, saw the mess hall, and decided to bring lunch with me. I understand that you haven't been fed for, what, three days?

Captain Regis: Five.

Commander Jarro: Wow. I can remember a week that we went without rations during the Kashyyk campaign. We were dug in around the capital and the Wookies cut off our supply lines with hit and run raids. We were on short rations and almost out of ammunition for nearly a month. There was a week where the supply ship didn't come in at all. We were hunting for those big bugs they have in those jungles because they all looked like fat, juicy steaks.

Captain Regis: Is that supposed to make me feel better? Are you trying to relate to me? Establish a report? I know all the tricks, Jarro. I was trained in this kind of thing, too. Torture the hell out of the prisoner until he breaks, and if that doesn't work then send in the friendly officer to make it all better. I've done that myself a few times. I watched my own men torture a Rebel spy to death before he broke and he went to his grave cursing us. That was the day that I lost faith in the Empire.

The last time I took orders from a man like you was the day that I was told to execute a man in front of his own family because he was suspected – suspected – of being a Rebel sympathizer. I shot him in the head and watched his wife cry over his mangled corpse, and the next day I told my officers that I was defecting. Those that were with us were kept, those that were opposed were put off on a moon that we found that happened to have a breathable atmosphere. I don't even know if it had a name. Those were the men that you and your captain killed, men that were loyal to the Empire and were willing to fight and die for it but saw what it had become. I watched them die from your men's blasters and I was proud of their sacrifice. So don't think that you can come in here and tell a story about Kashyyk with a plate of . . . whatever that is, and think that I'm just going to just roll over and tell you what you want to know.

Commander Jarro: In that case, I'll cut to the chase. I understand that you won't tell me about the Rebel fleet. I understand that you don't want to give up your comrades. I can even understand why you defected. All I want to know is what you know about Saccaris. We've lost contact with those colonies for weeks. There were thousands of people on those colonies, people that may or may not be dead by now. We need to know what happened there and I know you know something about it. I don't care about the war, I just care about those people.

Captain Regis: You know something, I believe you. If it were anyone else I would spit in your face and tell you to go [REDACTED] yourself, but I really do believe that you care about this. That makes you a better officer than that bastard you report to. Do yourself a favor and get the hell out of the Navy while you have a chance. The Rebellion could use a man like you.

A few weeks ago we started receiving transmissions from the Cluster that were just plain strange. They were very odd, just numbers and binary sequences without any audio or video. We couldn't make sense of them for a long time. One of our Comms officers was convinced that it was a message of some kind but he never got the chance to test his theory. You destroyed our ship before he could finish the project. He said that it was a message of some kind, but not like any other that I've ever seen. It was being transmitted on all hyperspace channels. He had a sample that he said he had decrypted, but I never got a chance to hear it. Commander Jinn, my first officer, was supposed to review it. He was never the same after that. He kept saying, "The voices in the dark, the voices are never silent."

Captain's Log

Captain Leonidas Barron

Time: 1420 hours

Date: CLASSIFIED

We have entered the Saccaris Cluster. After three months at hyperdrive we have finally reached our intended destination, and I must say that it is a great relief to finally be within sight of our mission. Both the crew and the officer staff have expressed agitation and trepidation about this mission, but now I hope to put all those fears to rest.

We entered into synchronous orbit of the first inhabited planet, Saccaris Minor, and our findings thus far have been less than encouraging. Of the five large settlements that were located on the planet as of the last survey, which was conducted five years ago, none seem to remain. Of the eleven million inhabitants of the planet, there is no sign. Repeated scans of the surface have revealed no signs of life and our hails continue to go unanswered. There is no evidence of any sort of conflict on the planet and several small transport ships as well as an orbital supply station remain derelict above the planet. The only obvious clue is our discovery of a large crater at the site of Cal Lonoria, the capital city of the Saccaris Minor colony, which strangely shows no signs of being caused by any kind of weapon or explosive. In fact, it looks more like it was created by some form of excavation. It is as if some great force simply scooped the city up and carried it off like a child's play set.

Finding no survivors or usable records on Saccaris Minor, we set our course for Saccaris Prime and the starbase Post 2185. As expected, the station was found derelict and the planet similarly devoid of inhabitants or any significant technology. This is most disconcerting, as Saccaris Prime has been one of our largest suppliers of bacta and fuel while the starbase was our most far-flung base in the galaxy. The two settlements which previously occupied the planet, Valorum City and Mos Solanem, are likewise absent from their respective sites. Again we have found the large craters just as we found on Saccaris Minor. All buildings, technology, infrastructure, and inhabitants have vanished without a trace. What sort of force could have done such a thing? We have set a course for the final planet in the Saccaris system, and I hope that we will find something there to explain what happened here.

Automated Computer Transcript, _Coruscant_ Bridge:

Helmsman: "Approaching Saccaris Beta, sir.

Captain Barron: Thank you, lieutenant. Set us for high orbit and begin your scans.

Tactical Officer: Captain, I'm reading a vessel in orbit of the planet on the far side. They should enter visual range in a few moments.

Captain Barron: Identify origin.

Tactical Officer: Scanning, sir. The vessel's configuration does not match any known design in our records, captain. Species of origin is unknown.

Captain Barron: How can that be? Our database holds records of every known species and ship design in the galaxy, how could the design be unknown?

Tactical Officer: Unknown, sir.

Operations Officer: The vessel is entering visual range, sir.

[passive scan . . . . vessel is of cubical design, crew compliment: UNKNOWN armament: UNKNOWN species of origin: UNKNOWN propulsion: UNKNOWN]

Captain Barren: Commander, what do you make of that?

Commander Jarro: I don't know, sir. I've never seen anything like it. Tactical, give me a full scan and tactical overview.

Tactical Officer: Yes, sir. I'm reading over a hundred torpedo tubes of some kind, high yield directed energy weapons, ablative hull armor, and shield emitters unlike anything I've ever seen. Their propulsion system is unlike anything in our database, but it appears highly advanced. There seems to be no clear bridge, engineering section, or crew quarters. In fact, there seems to be no infrastructure at all. I'm reading thousands of life signs, but something is strange about them.

Operations Officer: I agree, captain. These life signs are faint, but there is something else about them. They seem to be enhanced by some kind of artificial signals.

Helmsman: We're approaching the vessel, sir. They are maintaining their position above the southern continent.

Captain Barron: Hail them, all channels and all known dialects.

Communications Officer: Aye, sir. No response.

Commander Jarro: Captain, this could very well be the vessel that destroyed the Saccaris colonies. I've never seen this design or this species, we have no contact with them, and they are positioned above the last of the colonies.

Captain Barron: I agree. Operations, do we have a reading on that last colony?

Operations Officer: Scanning, sir. We're reading no life signs on the surface, no significant technology, no indication of a colony at all. Records show that there should be two major cities and a number of smaller settlements on the northern and eastern continents, roughly five thousand total inhabitants.

Captain Barron: No readings at all?

Operations Officer: None, sir.

Captain Barron: Very well. Commander, sound general quarters.

Commander Jarro: Aye, sir. All hands, general quarters. I repeat, general quarters, all hands to battle stations. Comms, scramble all squadrons in defensive formation Alpha 2-0. Tactical, raise shields and charge all weapons. Operations, begin scanning the enemy vessel for any and all weaknesses and transfer your findings to Tactical.

Helmsman: Captain, sir, they're coming about.

Tactical Officer: Confirmed, sir. Enemy is charging weapons and raising shields. All squadrons are away and awaiting orders, sir.

Captain Barron: Helm, bring us about and assume an offensive posture. Ahead at half speed and prepare for evasive maneuvers. Contact all wing commanders and coordinate with –

Operations Officer: Captain, I'm picking up some kind of polaron beam emanating from the enemy vessel. I think we're being scanned.

[foreign scan detected, origin: UNKNOWN VESSEL, scanning detected in all sections]

Captain Barron: What was that? That green beam that just passed by?

Communications Officer: Sir, we're receiving some sort of transmission on all channels. I can't determine the source or the –

UNKNOWN SIGNAL: We are the Borg. You will be assimilated. Lower your shields and surrender your ships. We will add your biological and technological distinctiveness to our own. Your culture will adapt to service us. Resistance is futile.

Commander Jarro: Well, that tells us all that we need to know about their intentions.

Captain Barron: It certainly does. Comms, order all squadron commanders to commence the attack, pattern Theta 3-5. Tactical, target the enemy's primary shield grid and weapons systems.

Tactical Officer: We're reading some kind of pulse, captain. It's coming from the enemy vessel.

[IMPACT, primary shield grid. Shield strength: 0%]

Tactical Officer: Sir, we just lost our deflector shields! We've lost contact with all fighters as well.

Operations Officer: All fighters destroyed, sir. Incoming weapons fire!

[IMPACT, dorsal section 87B, hull breach, all decks]

Operations Officer: Hull breach, all decks!

Captain Barron: Return fire! Concentrate all forward batteries on the enemy vessel!

Tactical Officer: Aye, sir!

[IMPACT, dorsal section 27A, 28B, 29C, 31D, multiple hull breaches]

Captain Barron: Damage report!

Operations Officer: Multiple hull breaches, casualty reports coming in, we've lost three sections of the secondary engine room, secondary shield generators have been destroyed.

Tactical Officer: No effect on their shields, sir. We're reading no discernible damage.

Commander Jarro: How can that be?

Captain Barron: Continue firing, lieutenant. Focus fire on their primary systems.

Operations Officer: Torpedoes inbound, brace for impact!

[IMPACT, primary shield generator 2, damage: CRITICAL – IMPACT, hyperdrive engine 3, damage: CRITICAL]

Operations Officer: We've lost one of our primary shield generators and Engine 3 is critical, sir! One more hit like that and we'll be dead in the water!

Captain Barron: Evasive maneuvers, Helmsman! Engine Room, prepare to jump to lightspeed on my command. Tactical, all weapons are free. Hit them with everything we've got!

Commander Jarro: Captain, we need to get out of here! I have a few maneuvers we could try to give us an advantage.

Captain Barron: Standard maneuvers will do, commander. Tactical, prepare a full spread of proton torpedoes. Target their engines and life support.

Tactical Officer: I can't locate any of their systems, sir! There aren't any indications or markers for any sections whatsoever.

Captain Barron: Best guess, lieutenant. Do as much damage as you can.

Operations Officer: Captain, I'm reading a massive power surge from the enemy ship. I can't lock down a target.

[INTRUDER ALERT: all decks, INTRUDER ALERT: main bridge]

Commander Jarro: Arm yourselves! Stormtroopers to the bridge, double time! Captain! Medical to the bridge!

[cancel intruder alert, intruders no longer detected]

Acting Communications Officer: Captain? Captain?! Is he alive?

Commander Jarro: I think so. Clear the casualties and secure the bridge, all hands return to your stations. Engine Room, where are we on that lightspeed?

Chief Engineer: We've sustained casualties down here, sir. One engine is all but gone and we just took another hit to Engine 1. We're working as fast as we can.

Commander Jarro: Work faster! We need to get out of here now!

Tactical Officer: Sir, they're coming around for another pass.

Commander Jarro: Target all weapons on their primary systems and fire at will.

Tactical Officer: That last hit took out our targeting systems, sir. I'm firing blind.

Commander Jarro: Damn it all! Do we still have fire control?

Tactical Officer: Aye, sir. Weapons are still operational.

Commander Jarro: Alright. Ready all weapons and prepare to fire at zero vector. Order all gunners to align manually with the enemy ship and to fire on my command. Helm, give me the best speed you can manage and take us in close to the bogie.

Helmsman: How close, sir?

Commander Jarro: As close as you safely can. I need you to get us as close to their shield perimeter as you can. Track the grid by the impacts. Tactical, keep up your fire so the helm can see where we're going. Helm, full speed ahead.

Helmsman: Aye, sir. Full power, moving in. We're twenty thousand kilometers from target. Fifteen thousand, ten thousand, eight thousand . . . .

[IMPACT, dorsal section 47A, hull breach]

Helmsman: Six thousand, five thousand, four thousand, two thousand . . .

Tactical Officer: All gunners report ready, tracking target manually.

[IMPACT, dorsal section 38D, hull breach, system damage: CRITICAL]

Helmsman: One thousand, five hundred, three hundred, two hundred!

Commander Jarro: Helm, hard to port! Weapons free, fire as she bears!

[starboard batteries engaged, effect on target: multiple hull breaches, shield grid disabled, engines damaged]

Tactical Officer: Good effect on target, sir. Multiple breaches, their shields are down.

Commander Jarro: Good job, lieutenant. Engine Room, where's my lightspeed?

Chief Engineer: It's as good as it's gonna get. I'll chance it.

Commander Jarro: Solid copy. Helm, set an escape course and engage, best possible speed. Give her all she's got!

Helmsman: Aye, aye, sir! Engaging lightspeed, now!

[lightspeed drive engaged, engine efficiency: 72%, hull integrity: 65%]

Operations Officer: Sir, enemy vessel is matching our course and speed.

Commander Jarro: No worries, ensign. This ship has the fastest, most advanced engines in the galaxy. No ship in the stars can catch us.

Operations Officer: This one can, sir. They are matching our velocity and exceeding it. They're right on our tail, sir.

Tactical Officer: Incoming fire!

Commander Jarro: Evasive maneuvers! Tactical, are our shields up?

Tactical Officer: The shields don't operate at lightspeed, sir. If one of their weapons hits us at this speed it'll rip us apart.

Helmsman: Hang on!

Commander Jarro: Tactical, can you launch a proton torpedo at this speed?

Tactical Officer: No, sir. The launchers can't operate at this velocity.

Commander Jarro: What about dumping them from the tubes? If we open the tubes and just let them go, they'll be going at our speed and . . .

Tactical Officer: And they'll hit with so much power that they'll go right through that ship. Brilliant, sir!

Commander Jarro: Make it so, lieutenant. On my mark, three . . . . two . . . . one . . . . mark!

Tactical Officer: Releasing torpedoes, aft tubes!

[WARNING: aft torpedo tubes open, torpedoes released without launch]

[enemy vessel detected, positive torpedo impact, damage to enemy vessel: CRITICAL]

Tactical Officer: Solid hits, commander. Enemy vessel has sustained heavy damage and have dropped off the scopes.

Commander Jarro: Did we destroy them?

Tactical Officer: I don't think so. I'm still picking up their signal. We crippled them, but they're still operational.

Commander Jarro: Very well, then. Helm, set course for the Akkadian Belt at full speed. Ops, I want a full damage report and situational analysis. Staff meeting in the ward room in six hours. Copy all of this to the Admiralty. I think we just went to war.


	2. Chapter 2

Captain's Log

Commander Daren Jarro, Acting Commanding Officer

Time: 1830 hours

Date: CLASSIFIED

I write this report from what is left of the captain's office. I have officially assumed command of the _Coruscant_ in Captain Barron's absence, although with some trepidation. I had intended to have a few years under my belt before my first command, but it appears that the Force alters its plans for no man. The unknown enemy ship we engaged caused significant damage before we managed to limp away. Full reports are still coming in with more detailed reports due at the staff meeting I have scheduled in a few hours. I must say that I am extremely proud of my crew and their exemplary performance in the face of the enemy and the discipline and bravery they have shown in fending off boarding forces.

I'm still trying to wrap my brain around how those . . . things got aboard my ship. They simply appeared on the bridge and virtually every deck on the ship without warning just after that strange energy surge. No landing craft, no shuttles, no conventional method of transport. I've heard such technologies theorized but even the greatest minds in the Empire say that we're still decades or even centuries away from developing them. And then there were the creatures themselves.

I don't know what else to call them but creatures. They are humanoid in appearance but appeared to consist of multiple species. I saw humans, two Sullustans, and even a Rodian. They were pale-skinned and their faces were cold, dead, like walking corpses with no life force or soul. Their bodies were covered in some sort of armor and implants that had replaced one eye on each of them, at least one arm, and most of their body parts. They came aboard just after the initial assault. There was an odd whining noise and then they just materialized out of thin air on every deck in every section. We fought them as well as we could. No one on the bridge was armed aside from myself and my Wookie dagger. I slashed the first one I saw and watched him go down into the pit, then stabbed the one that came after me with her arms stretched toward me in some sort of sick embrace. I felt the blade hang on the metal armor and then cut into the flesh beneath. Her one organic eye went dark and her body went limp, all but falling on me as she went down. I was tossing her aside when I saw a tall one with ridges on his forehead grapple with the captain. He put up a good fight, but the thing got a hand on his throat and he went down clutching at his neck. I could have sworn that I saw some sort of tubules extend from the drone's hand as it made contact.

The captain, the comms officer, a dozen others, all down within seconds. The things were unbelievably strong. I saw one of them grappling with seven crewmen and still take down four of them. The Stormtroopers came on the bridge a minute after the initial boarding and dropping six or seven of them in the first volley. The rest of the drones, if such they were, appeared to have some kind of shield around their bodies. At least it appeared so as the troopers' blaster bolts passed through the shield and tore into their bodies. A second after the shields appeared to fail, they were gone. That same whining sound, a shimmering web of green energy around each of them, and then they and all their dead and wounded were gone as quickly as they had appeared.

Damage reports are still coming in from my chief engineer and the repair staff, but one of the few reports that are already on my desk are the casualty reports. Our entire contingent of TIE fighters destroyed, our captain and several members of the staff wounded, and a hundred and eighteen dead with two hundred more wounded. Three hundred of my crew dead, wounded, or, or whatever has happened to the captain and the others. Medical has reported that it matches no known infection or biological agent, but the victims are completely comatose. They just stare up at the ceiling or writhe in their beds while their veins darken under their skin. No treatment has appeared to be effective against the condition but the ship's surgeons are not giving up hope.

We have set course for the Akkadian Belt and the starbase there in hopes of acquiring supplies, reinforcements, and repairs. The base there is a smaller one, nowhere near the size of those at Eadu or the Core worlds, but they have a decent repair yard. According to the last reports I saw there were three squadrons of TIE fighters and two Venator-class cruisers posted there after a series of Rebel raids in the vicinity. I've ordered the Comms officer to request their assistance and to contact the Admiralty for additional reinforcements, but our systems were damaged in the attack and we are having trouble repairing them. Our engines are operating on less than two-thirds efficiency, but we are making good time. I've ordered the crew to remain at general quarters for the time being and for all repairs to be given top priority. I just hope that it's enough.

Security Transcript: Staff Meeting

Ward Room, ISD _Coruscant_

Date: CLASSIFIED

Commander Jarro: Gentlemen, this meeting is called to order. I'll keep this short and simple, men, I want a full damage report and situational report. Give me statuses on all systems and the general lay of the land here. As we say in the infantry, I want an honest, no-shit assessment.

Tactical Officer: Weapons are mostly operational. Chargers are optimal and we still have 90% of our payload. Shields are a different story. One generator is completely destroyed and the other has sustained severe damage. Shields are at 38% when fully charged. If we get into another engagement we won't have them for long.

Operations Officer: Several systems are down and repairs are currently underway. Long-range scanners are down, long-range communications are inoperative, and that pulse they hit us with has been playing havoc with our power systems. We have reports of blackouts and power fluctuations all over the ship and we've lost a significant portion of our backup databanks.

Commander Jarro: How significant?

Operations Officer: During the raid, the drones managed to access our backup servers and download most of the information they contained. We estimate that they got away with just over 3,000TB of assorted data.

Commander Jarro: Three thousand terabytes? How is that possible? They couldn't have been jacked in for more than a few minutes.

Operations Officer: I don't know, sir. Nothing in our fleet has anything approaching that kind of computing power.

Commander Jarro: What did they get?

Operations Officer: That's the interesting part, sir. They took only general information. Lists of species and related data, ship designs, languages, stellar cartography charts, the language database, and millions of other assorted files. There didn't seem to be any kind of intent at all.

Tactical Officer: Unless the information itself was the target. Sir, I have a theory, if I may.

Commander Jarro: Go ahead, lieutenant. We're all ears.

Tactical Officer: Sir, I don't think this species, these Borg, are even from this galaxy. We have no data on them, their ships, or their technology anywhere in our records, records that go back centuries. I think they were trying to learn as much as we could about us from the data they took from those servers. That's why they just took everything and didn't go after specific intel.

Commander Jarro: I think you may be on to something there. Keep me posted and we'll see what develops. Chief, where are we on propulsion?

Chief Engineer: Engine Three is a total loss, sir. She took a direct hit and was nearly obliterated. Engine Two was barely touched and Engine One was hit hard. We're doing what we can, sir, but I'm afraid it isn't going to be much.

Commander Jarro: What would it take to get our engines back up to peak efficiency? I need to know that we can outrun those bastards.

Chief Engineer: Five hundred men and three weeks in a shipyard and I could do that for you, but as of now we are simply, for lack of a better work, [REDACTED].

Commander Jarro: Solid copy, Chief. Give me the best you can. Colonel, how are your Stormtroopers?

Colonel Tanon: Ready to kick ass, Commander. We lost brothers to those cyborgs and we're ready to get some back. You just point us at 'em and we'll take them down.

Commander Jarro: Copy that, colonel. Gentlemen, make no mistake that we are now engaged in what could very well be the start of a full scale war. This attack was unprovoked and it was vicious, clearly not the work of a peaceful species. Right now we are the only ship in the AO that can perform any kind of operations against these Borg, but as soon as we can contact the Admiralty we will have reinforcements on the way. We are heading for the base in the Akkadian system as we speak, where I hope to find additional ships and possible repairs. We will continue to operate on full battle alert for the time being. If there is anything, and I mean anything that any of you need to carry out your repairs, you have the green light to procure it by whatever means necessary. This meeting is adjourned.

Captain's Log

Commander Daren Jarro, Acting Commanding Officer

Time: 0230 hours

Date: CLASSIFIED

Captain Barron is dead. At approximately 0145 hours the chief medical officer contacted me about the captain and the other crewmen who had been wounded in the attack, calling me to the Infirmary immediately. I responded right away and found a platoon of Stormtroopers and security personnel waiting for me. They had sealed off the Infirmary and were about to storm the section. A sergeant handed me a pistol and I went in with the first breachers, and I'll never forget what I saw when I went through those doors.

Captain Barron and the others were all on their feet, shambling around at first and then locked onto us as we came over the threshold. Their faces and bodies were covered in some kind of mechanical implants and tech that no one has ever seen before (which is getting to be a common theme around here) and they had the same cold, dead look in their eyes that I had seen in the faces of those Borg on the bridge. They were already dead. We put them out of their misery. We will commit them to the stars tomorrow with full military honors as soon as the chief medical officer conducts a series of autopsies to find out what happened to them. This brings our total casualty count to 275 dead. May the Force be with them.

Captain's Log

Commander Daren Jarro, Acting Commanding Officer

Time: 0900 hours

Date: CLASSIFIED

We have reached the Akkadian Belt after two days at lightspeed. Normally it would have taken a day or so, but with our damaged engines we have had to make do. Repairs have gone well and we have restored power to our long-range scanners and have partially repaired our long range communications systems. We can now receive and monitor transmissions from a range of roughly ten light-years, but are still unable to send messages of our own. Our reports to the Admiralty will have to wait.

Repairs have been coming along slowly but steadily. The Chief has managed to repair our secondary shield generators and partially repaired our primary generators, as well as some of the damage thatw as done to Engine One. Our structural damage is another story. Several of those Borg torpedoes cut straight through the ship, transecting the hull and leaving holes big enough for a hover tank to pass through. The breaches have been sealed and repairs are underway, but it will be a long time before the _Coruscant_ is her old self again. We have contacted the base at Akkadia and they have repair crews awaiting our arrival at their tiny shipyard. It isn't much, just a basic repair yard for minor battle damage and the occasional small maintenance fix, but it's the best we can do. I also managed to contact the commander of Squadron 84, which was recently stationed at the Akkadian base, and I have briefed them on the situation in its entirety. They have four Venator-class cruisers, one Decatur-class battleship, and seven full wings of TIE fighters as well as a wing of the new Interceptor fighters that are coming out of the Empire's shipyards. Not that fighters are going to be of much use against the Cube, as we've started calling it, but every little bit helps.

The crew have taken the loss of Captain Barron and the others hard. Morale is at a low, to say the least, but the men have shown great resilience and perseverance in the face of the circumstances. They have all gone about their duties with the same discipline that I have come to expect of them. They have fought through the fear and the trepidation of the situation and have performed admirably.

As for the Cube itself, we have heard nothing. Our last contact in hyperspace must have left them heavily damaged or crippled at the very least, but there was no debris and no signs of the vessel's destruction. They're still out there and still pose a danger to our fleet and our colonies, assuming that they were in fact operating alone as we have suspected. If there are more of those ships somewhere around, perhaps even an entire fleet . . . . I don't even want to think about that. A fleet of those Cubes would decimate our forces in this region and put our entire Navy in jeopardy.

One welcome report of possible good news, of a sort; one of the Stormtroopers in the Detention Block called me yesterday with what he claims to be a report of potentially great importance. With the repairs and the chaos left from the battle at Saccaris, I haven't had a chance to review his findings until now. His commander briefed him for me and collected a data disc that the young sergeant assures us has a recording of the incident in question. I saw the disc on my desk when I sat down for a quick cup of tea and a moment of rest. It's a standard security disk recording from the monitoring system in the Detention Block that records the goings-in in the individual cells. Each cell has its own monitor. The code on it immediately caught my attention: Level B, Cell 278. Captain Regis' cell.

According to the sergeant, the events of the disc show an episode of Captain Regis' that happened at the same time as the battle back at Saccaris. He was posted in the Detention Block on guard duty and stood to when he heard the call to general quarters, but just after the battle began he heard screams coming from the captain's cell. He claims that his first thought was that the good captain was about to attempt some sort of escape or other kind of "mischief", but the screaming only grew louder and crazier as the time went on. It got to the point that he became concerned for the prisoner, especially after the intruder alert sounded, and after the fights in the corridor outside the Block he went into the cell to confirm the prisoner's wellbeing and found him writhing on the floor, screaming in apparent agony and babbling incoherently as he held his head and all but tore out his own hair as he screamed. When I asked him about the babblings, he said that he couldn't tell me much. The captain grabbed his blaster from him and almost used it, on himself, but the blaster clicked when he pulled the trigger with it against his head. Lucy break for us that the new E-11s have a tricky safety. I still prefer the old models, myself.

I haven't viewed the disc yet, but having read the trooper's report I have to admit that I am intrigued. Captain Regis has been admitted to the Infirmary and is receiving treatment, but the medical staff has been swamped ever since the battle. Probably not the best care, him being a Rebel, but I've ordered that he be treated as the officer he is. I think I'll give the disc a view once I've finished this log and this cup of tea. If nothing else, it'll give me an excuse to sit still for a few minutes.

Automatic Security Transcript: Detention Block-Level B, Cell 278

Time: 1535 hours – 1538 hours

Date: CLASSIFIED

Captain Regis: What's going on? Guard, what's going on?! I hear the general quarters bell. Damn it, I have a right to know what's going- AAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH! What is that noise?! Guard! Guard! AAAAHHH!

JR113: Knock it off, Rebel scum! We've got bigger problems than you right now.

Captain Regis: GET THEM OUT! Get them out, please! Make them stop, MAKE THEM STOP!

JR 113: Enough, you sack of Rebel shit! Don't make me come in there and tune your ass up!

Captain Regis: AAAAHHH, make them stop! Make the voices stop! Get them out of my head, please! Make it stop, MAKE IT STOP!

JR113: That's it, I've had it with you. Let's see how you like this. [security code entered, JR113-864/421: ACCEPTED] Shut the hell up or I'm gonna – what in the Force?!

Captain Regis: Please, please, make the voices stop! The voices in the dark! The voices in the dark! Please make the voices stop!

JR113: Get back, scum! Get back or I'll put your ass down! Hey, get off me!

Captain Regis: Make it stop! Get them out of my head! No, no, no, no, no, no! Make this work, please, son, make it stop!

[security alert, weapon engaged; weapons fire, Cell 278; prisoner stunned, life signs: NORMAL]

JR113: JR113 to Infirmary, I need medical to the Detention Block, Level B, Cell 278.

Infirmary: We don't have time for your Rebel scum right now, trooper. We have priority casualties on the way, including the captain. Remain at your post.

Captain's Log:

Commander Daren Jarro – Acting Commanding Officer

Time: 0915 hours

Date: CLASSIFIED

I have viewed the security footage from Captain Regis' detention cell and it is . . . disturbing, to say the least. I've seen men in pain before and I remember once on Klaren when the Rebels tried to use some kind of sonic weapon on us while we were closing in on one of their bases and most of my squad instantly fell to their knees screaming until we could get our helmets off. Open air made the noise a little more bearable and the comms in the helmets only served to amplify the blast. That was hard, but it was nothing like this. Whatever Captain Regis was going through, it was genuine agony. The poor man was grabbing at his head with both hands and all but tearing out his own hair. It was as if he was literally trying to claw out the "voices" from inside his own skull.

I have contacted the chief medical officer and have ordered a full medical workup for Captain Regis as well as a full psychological evaluation. He appeared to be in excellent mental health when last I saw him, but the interrogations we've been giving him have been known to have detrimental effects on the subject's mind. I've seen men go mad from the effects of those interrogations before, but I don't think that's what this is. I told the doctor to have a full report for me by the end of the day, preferably within a few hours. He's a very efficient officer and I expect the report promptly. It can't be a coincidence that this little episode happened just as the battle commenced and the Borg sent us that cryptic message.

As a matter of fact, I've been thinking more and more about that message. Clearly it was hostile, talking about our culture adapting to service theirs and how we would be "assimilated", whatever that means, but the most striking part of it was the sound of the voice that spoke to us. Or, rather, the voices. That deep, droning voice has been haunting my thoughts and my dreams since the incident. I've never heard anything like it. It was almost like there were hundreds, even thousands of voices that were all speaking in perfect unison. How many crewmen would have to be speaking to make a sound like that? How many voices talking at once? Voices . . . voices in the dark. Regis and his first officer both talked about voices in the dark, and the first officer was talking about that strange signal from the Saccaris Cluster. I'll order a renewed analysis of that signal. It could be of more importance than we thought.

Chief Medical Officer's Report

Lt. Commander/Dr. Tano Sabeer

Time: 1430 hours

Date: CLASSIFIED

I have finished my examination of the Rebel captain, Regis, and have found no significant damage either physically or mentally. Brain scans came back completely normal and there is no evidence that there has been any mental defects or physical trauma to the brain. The only outward injuries I have found are scrapes and abrasions to the scalp and temples, two torn fingernails that I assume were torn away when the Rebel idiot tried to tear off his own scalp, and a minor burn on the lower torso resulting from a standard-issue E-11 blaster rifle set to the stun setting. I have applied antibiotics and have regenerated the damaged tissue as best I can. They should heal completely within a day or two.

The patient is in excellent health and remarkable physical condition for his age, has highly developed muscle tone, shows signs of good nutrition until a few weeks ago, and aside from the obvious injuries inflicted during interrogation there appear to be two large scars which I postulate were inflicted in battle between five and seven years ago. The patient exhibits good cardiovascular health and shows no signs of disease or infection aside from mild malnutrition and dehydration as a result of interrogation and confinement. Internal scans reveal no internal injuries or foreign bodies aside from two auditory implants installed by a competent surgeon of the former Galactic Republic at the approximate age of four. Implants are in good condition and are operating at normal capacity.

I certify that the patient is healthy and sound and is fit to return to his cell.

Captain's Log

Commander Daren Jarro – Acting Commanding Officer

Time: 1020 hours

Date: CLASSIFIED

Dr. Sabeer has delivered his repot and has briefed me on Captain Regis' condition, and frankly his findings are a bit strange. I saw the disc myself and watched him have his episode in the cell, so to hear the doctor say that he found nothing wrong with him is just a tad odd. Sabeer reassured me that he conducted a thorough examination and that he could find no injury or defect. The one anomalous thing that he did find were the two implants that were attached to Regis' eardrums. I asked him about them and he informed me that such implants are not uncommon and in fact were standard practice thirty or more years ago in children that were born with or had developed hearing conditions through disease or injury. More modern models are currently in use in such cases, but the overall design hasn't changed much in about a hundred years.

When asked if the implants themselves could have caused the captain's breakdown, the doctor almost became defensive. He says that hundreds of millions of those implants have been given to generations of people of several species and that there hasn't been a significant problem with them in the last sixty years. The design was perfected after a few decades and became a standard practice in the medical industry. They operated on the same principle as a mobile comm unit, picking up the extrasensory sounds, vibrations, and signals that the ear does naturally and translates them into signals that can be read and interpreted by the brain. The early models had some issues with picking up primitive radio waves and the occasional hyperspace signals between ships and space stations, but those problems were ancient history and were long since solved. He left in something of a fit, so I didn't press the issue.

Repair crews have been dispatched from the Akkadian base and repairs are underway. Work is going slowly, but the yard here is poorly equipped to work on these new Star Destroyers and the damage we suffered was severe, but it is coming along steadily. Squadron 84 has been arrayed in a defensive formation and more ships are being called in, including the _Geonosis_ and two other Star Destroyers as well as four more battle groups. The Admiralty has been appraised of our situation via Akkadia's hyperspace transponder and they have sent one of their "top men" to reinforce us and to take command of our fleet. He has been directed to come aboard the _Geonosis_ and rendezvous with us within a day or two.

We have still had no contact with the Borg ship. Scout ships and fighter squadrons have been deployed to the general area where we lost contact with them, but so far they have found nothing. The other commanders are happy to hear that, most of them believing that the Cube must have either been crippled or destroyed, but I refuse to believe that. I saw how much damage they could take and the extent of their technology. If we haven't found wreckage or a debris field yet, then that ship is still out there. The Admiralty has ordered us to remain in place and await reinforcements before going after the Cube, even though I have adamantly insisted that we need to go out in force and find them as soon as possible. I remember in the infantry we were taught that you never let the enemy get set, you press the attack and don't give them time to dig in or lick their wounds. I remember several times when we dogged Wookie or Seperatist forces until we ourselves were all but exhausted and still carried the day. Letting the Borg just sit out there repairing their ship and free to raid and destroy other colonies is nothing short of lunacy.

I have ordered regular tactical drills to be carried out during our downtime, as well as informing the crew that my order that all personnel be armed is still in effect. It's against regulations for anyone but the Stormtrooper contingent and standard security to be armed aboard ship, but after our little skirmish with the Borg drones on the bridge and elsewhere on the ship, I'm not about to take any chances. The Stormtroopers have doubled their training exercises and have deployed squads on all decks and in all major sections, including the bridge, and Colonel Tanon himself has handed out the best armament in the armory to a select group of his best men. We were all curious as to how and why our blasters were able to pierce the shields of the drones while the ship's weapons had little to no effect until we were in close and he has taken it upon himself to investigate the matter. I've never seen anyone more knowledgeable or more well acquainted personally with the Empire's arsenal. If anyone can find the answer, it's him.

Colonel Tanon SR-4425

Commanding Officer, 427th Stormtrooper Regiment, ISD _Coruscant_ Detachment

Subject: Weapons Report, send to Commander Daren Jarro

Date: CLASSIFIED

I cannot be sure, but I believe that I have solved the question of how and why the bolts from our E-11s were able to penetrate the shields of those Borg drones. I've taken my personal weapon apart and put the damn thing back together at least a thousand times, examined every piece like I never have before, and read every scrap of literature, schematics, and technical data that I can find from the archives and the database, and I think I've finally got it. Sir, do you remember the droidekas that the Trade Federation and the Seperatists used to throw at us back in the day? I'm told that you were one of the first human volunteers to fight beside the Clones and that you served in the Geonosis and Kashyyk campaigns afterward, so I know that you had a couple scrapes with them. Anyway, remember those shields that they used to have? The thought came to me as I was reading the original schematics of the E-11 and the requirements that the government put forward before the original trials. I never knew this, but one of the main requests that the Defense Ministry had in mind was that, "the weapon be able to pierce, defeat, or otherwise circumvent personal and portable shield grids and devices currently in use, i.e. – Trade Federation/Separatist personal defense systems".

So that got me to thinking about how those shields were designed. The droideka shields were intended to block or deflect solid bolts of concentrated energy. They covered a wide range of intensities and power settings, but they were always meant to stop pure energy. That's why the E-11 uses a random power setting that confused the droids' shield generators and onboard defensive computer. No two shots ever have the same power setting or intensity. The shots are powerful enough to pierce most armor, including ours, but it's the rotating modulation that helps it to defeat most shield grids. The newer ones are more sophisticated and compensate for this, but those have been designed as a countermeasure after years of combat against the E-11. These Borg have never faced us before, so they wouldn't know about it.

I've ordered my men to amp up the wattage on their weapons and to secure and carry all necessary tools and supplies needed to maintain and improve their weapons at peak efficiency. It'll cost us a little ammo capacity and a slight change in accuracy, but at close quarters a man doesn't have to be a goddamn sniper. We'll go from five hundred shots to about four fifty or so, so not a huge loss in that department. I've also ordered our engineers and armorers to modify all weapons onboard to a similar modulation wherever applicable. I've also taken after your own example and had the armories opened up and the old knives broken out and issued to the troops. If it comes down to it, they may come in handy.

On a personal note, sir, I would just like to add that you earned a whole lot of respect from the boys for the way you took down those drones on the bridge and in the Infirmary. You showed some balls up there taking those bastards on with just a knife. All the boys are happy to have you on this ship and we're proud to have you as our commander. You just point us at the enemy next time they come at us and we'll take down as many as they send. We lost some damn good men in that fight, men who were my friends and who I had trained and fought beside. We're ready to get some of our own back.

Chief Medical Officer's Log

Lt. Commander/Dr. Tano Sabeer

Time: 1637 hours

Date: CLASSIFIED

I have completed my post-mortem autopsies on the late Captain Barron and the other crewmen who were affected by the strange condition following the Borg attack. I have delivered my report to Commander Jarro and have completed the arrangements for the funerals in the morning. The remains of our crewmen are to be committed to the vacuum of space in a mass ceremony. It would be more fitting and proper to inter them one at a time, but the sheer number of casualties forbids us from doing so in a timely fashion. A sad fact of war, I'm afraid.

I was amazed to find that what I at first mistook for an infection or a pathogen of some kind resulting from contact with the aliens was, in fact, a flood of microscopic machines in the bloodstream that were actually changing – dare I say it, transforming – the tissues of the body into exact replicas of the Borg themselves. I have spoken to several crewmen who were in close proximity to those who were wounded in action and one thing is universal in all reports: all of those afflicted had some kind of tubules injected into their necks, torsos, or extremities by the drones they grappled with. I suspect that these tubules are a delivery system for these nanoprobes and that they are some sort of weapon for the "assimilation" that the Borg spoke of in the initial contact. My studies suggest that the probes were indeed "assimilating" the bodies of the fallen. In addition to altering the makeup and cellular structure of the tissues they attack, the little devils had also begun to construct several implants and assorted other interesting machinery within the body itself that appears upon close examination to be tailor-made for each individual victim. All of these strange machines deactivated and self-destructed upon forced removal, suggesting a kind of symbiotic relationship between the technological and the biological components.

I have consulted with the ship's engineers and the science personnel in the labs, and none of them can make heads or tails of this technology. All of them agree that whoever designed or manufactured them are centuries ahead of us in terms of technical advancement and are of a very nefarious nature. These probes were painstakingly designed to do the job of destroying and assimilating the infected tissues, a design that must have taken years, even decades to perfect to this level of sophistication. I'm reminded of my post-graduate work in Psychological Studies and I have to say that the picture I have of this species is especially dark. Our galaxy has its share of dangerous and aggressive races, the Wookies being one shining example, but none of them of them are on the same level as these Borg.

I am no psychologist, but as I study the technology and the methods of these people, if such they are, I cannot help but be drawn into the mindset behind their design and application. This is a species that has little or no sense of morality, mercy, or compassion. These devices were designed with pure efficiency in mind. Nowhere is there a single measure in place to spare the victim the pain of the transformation. The same goes for the delivery system. The tubules cut through the skin and subcutaneous tissue, injecting the nanoprobes directly into the bloodstream and then ripping out again before retracting into the drone's arm. I'm unsure of the method used to accomplish this, but the cuts I found were made by at least a hundred microscopic blades that all acted in unison. The incisions themselves were relatively painless, but the insertion and extraction would have been very unpleasant. The nanoprobes operate under the same principle, building their implants and little devices in the body with no thought to the victim. This is the kind of brutal efficiency that I've come to expect from a robotic mind. Never have I seen it in an organic, sentient species.

Also, based on the reports of the crewmen I've spoken to, the beings themselves were terribly efficient. They came at the men with no regard to themselves whatsoever, just walking into the bolts of the Stormtroopers as if they were operating in a trance. Not even droids will fight in such a way. In any robotic being, even the combat models, there is still a sense of self-preservation that is written into their programming to ensure ideal combat efficiency. These drones had no such sense of preservation at all. They completely ignored the loss of their comrades as well, and from what the bridge officers have told me they also ignored the damage to their vessel. The vessel itself showed no outward indications of a command center, an engineering section, an infirmary, or any kind of barracks or lodging of any kind. Even their ships appear to be designed with plain, pure efficiency in mind. But how would they support their crew with such a design? How would they communicate, how would they feed and house their crew members? And the creatures did not appear to verbally communicate while aboard ship despite having remarkable coordination. It's almost as if they had a . . . . by the Force!

Captain's Log

Commander Daren Jarro, Acting Commanding Officer

Time: 0945 hours

Date: CLASSIFIED

One of the saddest duties of a commanding officer is burying the dead. I have only been in command of the _Coruscant_ for a week or so and already I am sending my dead into space. We buried Captain Barron first, giving him full military honors and a proper accordance of rank, followed by a mass ceremony for the rest of our fallen with likewise military honors. They were all good men, good officers and crew who died in the line of duty just as much as if they had died fighting the Rebellion or any other enemy. I delivered their eulogy for them, many of them men that I had sat and talked and drank with several times in the enlisted men's mess or the officer's club, men that I had shared meals and long conversations with. I didn't know most of them personally, but the few that I did know were good friends and good men. Thankfully the ceremony was brief and went off without a hitch and all of us were able to quickly return to duty.

We have just received a transmission from the _Geonosis_ that they are entering the Akkadian system and that we should prepare for new orders. The transmission was short and to the point, almost rushed. I got the feeling that the comms officer had someone breathing down his neck making him cut the message short. Normally sister ships exchange pleasantries when they meet and ask for updates and reports on the other ship's situations. This time it was a short snap that was barely five seconds long. I have my bridge crew at the ready and the ship is as presentable as we can make her, but I'll be the first to admit that the _Coruscant_ is still in rough shape. No matter to us that crew her. She may be hurt and haggard, but she's still ours and she's still in one piece. She'll go a few more rounds and get her licks in before anyone takes her down.

I have received and examined the reports of Dr. Sabeer and Colonel Tanon, and both of their suggestions were taken under consideration and put into effect. Dr. Sabeer had a rather unique hypothesis about the Borg's ability to coordinate so easily and so fluidly. He theorizes that they operate on some kind of collective consciousness, a single hive mind similar to that of an automated manufacturing system or the older models of tactical and labor droids used on the more industrialized planets of the galaxy. None of them ever have an individual thought, never a moment when they aren't plugged into the hive. Every drone's thoughts, actions, and movements are governed by the hive, every trace of individuality erased and any semblance of what they once were destroyed forever. He had one idea about how they were controlled as well; a transceiver embedded somewhere in the brain that received instructions from the main hive in the form of a hyperspace signal similar to the one that we intercepted.

With that in mind, the good doctor has agreed to run another set of tests on Captain Regis and his auditory implants. The signals that we intercepted were unlike any that we had ever seen before and likely operate on a completely different range of channels than what we use, which brings forth the possibility of Regis' implants indeed picking up the signals used by the Borg to coordinate their activities. It's possible that he was picking up the very signals that the Borg themselves hear in their own heads. With so many minds bound together as one, I can see why he went into a fit.

The _Geonosis_ has entered our operating area and we have been ordered to stand to and prepare for our new orders from their new commander, Admiral Wilhuff Tarkin. I've heard of him before. He's supposed to be a real hardass. This should be good.

Automated Security Transcript – _Coruscant_ Bridge:

Comms Officer: Captain, the _Geonosis_ is hailing us. The admiral wishes to speak to you, sir.

Commander Jarro: Patch him through, ensign. I'll take it at your station.

Comms Officer: Aye, sir. Receiving now.

Admiral Tarkin: Who is this? I requested to speak with Captain Barron.

Commander Jarro: Admiral, sir, I am Commander Daren Jarro, acting commanding officer of the _Coruscant._ I'm sad to say that Captain Barron was wounded in our initial contact with the Borg and later passed away as a result of his wounds. We buried him this morning.

Admiral Tarkin: Jarro? Oh, yes, the infantry officer. I was told that you had been given a post on the _Coruscant_ , although I can't imagine why. Field commanders are an incompetent bunch even in their own field, let alone on a ship of the line. It's no surprise that your vessel is in such an abysmal state. No Navy officer would be caught dead with his ship is such a state. I expect a full report of your experiences with these . . . Borg. Laymen's terms will do, if that is all that you can manage.

Commander Jarro: Yes, sir. We were dispatched from Alderaan three months ago to investigate a strange transmission emanating from the Saccaris Cluster, reaching the system approximately four days ago. We went from one to the other of the colonies that once occupied the system, but found nothing. All of the colonies were gone, destroyed by some unknown means. Upon investigation of the final colony, we encountered an unknown cubical vessel. We hailed the vessel and received no response. We assumed a tactical stance and they engaged us, destroying our secondary shield generators, one engine, as well as one of our primary shield generators. We suffered severe damage and took heavy casualties before we were able to get away.

Admiral Tarkin: Get away? Am I to understand that you fled from a single ship? We designed the Star Destroyer to defeat an entire Rebel squadron. I find it hard to believe that a single ship could cause such damage to your vessel. I have seen many examples of inept leadership, but this may be the greatest example of utter ineptitude that I have ever seen. I've examined the preliminary reports, and I am greatly disappointed. Over three hundred dead, including your captain, your entire fighter contingent destroyed, and you very nearly lost your ship.

Commander Jarro: Sir, the Borg have a technology that we cannot hope to match. They knocked out our shields with a single blast of some kind of pulse, then they transported aboard out of thin air. I know it sounds strange, but hundreds of them just materialized out of nowhere and we were very nearly overrun in min-

Admiral Tarkin: Enough of your absurdities, commander! Ignorance and excuses have no place on the bridge of a ship of the line! Expect a formal report to be filed upon completion of our mission. If you escape courts-martial then you will be back in the mud with the other riffraff within the year!

Commander Jarro: In the meantime, sir, the crew and staff of the _Coruscant_ stand ready to assist in any way we can. My men have been working diligently to develop countermeasures to the Borg threat and I believe that we have a few –

Admiral Tarkin: The Borg "threat" is no longer any concern of yours, commander. I have assumed command of the fleet and we will be moving out to engage and destroy these upstart Borg, or whatever they are, and investigate the true fate of the Saccaris colonies once they have been destroyed. Your orders are to proceed to the Geonosis shipyards for full repairs and the replacement of your crew and staff by a crew more suited to a ship of this status. I expect you to depart within the next few hours. Tarkin out.

Comms Officer: Transmission has been terminated, sir.

Tactical Officer: Did he just order us out of the fight, sir?

Commander Jarro: I'm afraid he did, lieutenant. He wants to claim all the glory for himself and the Emperor while making us the scapegoat for the loss of Saccaris. Well, you heard the man. Prepare the ship for departure. Recall all repair crews back to Akkadian base and prepare the engines for lightspeed as soon as possible. I expect to be ready for the journey in two hours, at most. If anyone should need me, I'll be in my office. Carry on.

Captain's Log

Commander Daren Jarro – Acting Commanding Officer

Time: 1015 hours

Date: CLASSIFIED

The condescending son of a bitch! Admiral Tarkin has always been a hardass and I've heard more than a few stories about his disdain for field officers, but I had never believed that it would come across as outright hatred. Every word that he said to me was absolutely dripping with disdain. It was hard to keep my composure while he was dressing me down about my "incompetent leadership", even harder when he talked about my crew as if they were bumbling idiots. No other crew could have performed more admirably under the circumstances. Tarkin is a shining example of the new breed of Imperial officers. By virtue of their academy education and the simple fact that they were of the Empire and their enemies weren't, they were automatically better than anyone else. I would like to see him take command of such a situation and come out as well as we did. It's true that the _Coruscant_ and her sister ships were designed to be a battle group unto themselves, able to take on several older model warships with relative ease, but the Borg simply outmatched us.

I've served under men like Tarkin before. I've seen what happens when their arrogance translates over to battlefield tactics. They think that the simple fact that they are Imperial trained makes them an invincible commander who can do no wrong, and when they go into battle with that attitude they make foolish mistakes and get men killed. They may win battles, but when you lose so many of your own men that the victory was barely worth winning then even a great victory can be a hollow victory. I remember a dozen battles during the Kashyyk campaign when we were sent into the teeth of enemy defenses and were chewed to pieces. I nearly died several times following foolish orders made by foolish officers completely convinced of their own superiority. Those were the infantry officers. Fleet officers are even worse. They are the men entrusted to command the most powerful warships in the galaxy – how could they be anything but the best?

The crew won't like this anymore than I do, but I know them too well to think that they will do anything but what they are told. These men have been through the ringer and came out on top. They are a credit to the Imperial Navy, each and every one of them. I've given the order to prepare the ship for departure. Repair crews have been recalled to the base, the engines have been brought up to about 70% efficiency, and our shield grid has been reinforced to nearly 60% strength. Supplies have been taken aboard and our systems are operating at acceptable levels. We are still short-staffed, but we can still manage.

Captain's Log

Commander Daren Jarro – Acting Commanding Officer

Time: 0800 hours

Date: CLASSIFIED

All repair crews have been recalled, supplies have been taken in, and all systems are operating at acceptable levels. I have given the order to return to Geonosis shipyard, admittedly with a heavy heart and a more than bruised ego. Admiral Tarkin announced just a few moments ago that the fleet will be moving out within the hour in search of the Cube. Scout ships have been deployed and they have reported back sings that the ship may be nearby. Tarkin is obviously confident in his chances of victory. I again tried to explain the capabilities of the Borg and their vessel, but he remains convinced that the Borg ship is no match for even one of the Star Destroyers in the fleet, let alone one paired with five other cruisers and so many fighter squadrons. Nothing short of the entire Rebel fleet would be able to stand against a battle group of that size. Nothing in this galaxy, at least. I tried my best to explain the situation, but he had the same condescending tone that he had last night when talking to someone who was "just a field officer". He barely even acknowledges my rank. He listened to the first few syllables and then dismissed it all out of hand. I'm worried about the potential results of this action, but the crews of these ships are all experienced men and all have been battle tested. I'm sure it will all work out in the end.

The crew is understandably in low spirits. The loss of our comrades has left us all with a desire for revenge on their killers. I wouldn't mind getting back into the fray and striking a blow or two against the Borg ship myself, but the powers that be have decided that we will be of better use elsewhere. I have a feeling that we will all be reassigned once we reach Geonosis. The Empire dislikes defeat and loathes inept officers, and if Tarkin has his way then they will likely receive reports that I was inefficient in every way possible, as well as my crew. Nothing could be further from the truth. My crew are an example of Imperial personnel. They performed better than any other crew possibly could have under such circumstances.

I have given the order to engage the engines and to set our course for the Geonosis system. Our travel time should be around four days, perhaps five or six at our current operating status. Engines are still being repaired, but they are still at less than seventy percent. My chief engineer continues to reassure me that with a week or two in a shipyard and a good repair crew, the ship will be in top shape in no time.

On a personal note, I would like to acknowledge the efficiency of the Akkadian crews and their expertise. They performed admirably and were all excellent at their jobs. The commanding officer was cordial and professional, the exact opposite of the admiral, and I have no doubt that he is an excellent officer in his own right. I wouldn't mind working with him and his men again in the future.

Captain's Log

Commander Daren Jarro – Acting Commanding Officer

Time: 1622 hours

Date: CLASSIFIED

I didn't expect results this soon. It has been a little over six hours since we left Akkadia and we just received a transmission from Tarkin's fleet. They have spotted the Borg ship on their screens and are giving chase. The ship was spotted in the Cunar system, a section of space largely unpopulated aside from a few automated mining pods and a single unmanned recon base that has been in operation since the Clone Wars. It has been largely out of use since the end of the Wars, and having it go offline would not have been noticed for weeks. The base was destroyed by the Borg and the mining pods were nowhere to be found, but reports indicate that the power signature found in the system was identical to that of the Cube. The fleet has altered course and are in pursuit. Engagement seems imminent, but the ship itself is still out of sight.

Captain's Log

Commander Daren Jarro – Acting Commanding Officer

Time: 1702 hours

Date: CLASSIFIED

Another report has come in from Admiral Tarkin's fleet. Another settlement has been found in ruins, this time in the Boudiccan system. Again, it was an isolated settlement that has been out of use and out of view for years. The place was a home for a few dozen families of farmers and a single mine that produces iron and copper. Less than two hundred residents, no defenses at all, and a supply ship that comes in once a month. The automated recon base would be missed before they would. The fleet did not stop in the system but are continuing their pursuit.

Captain's Log

Commander Daren Jarro – Acting Commanding Officer

Time: 2018 hours

Date: CLASSIFIED

Another transmission from the fleet. They've engaged the Borg.


	3. Chapter 3

Automated Security Transcript – _Coruscant_ bridge

Commander Jarro : Comms, isolate Imperial Hyperspace Channel Alpha 268 and patch it into the audio system. Put it through the entire ship, I want the whole ship to hear this. Attention all hands, this is the captain. What you're about to hear is Admiral Tarkin's fleet engaging the Borg threat. This will be a live feed.

Comms Officer: Channel ready, sir.

Commander Jarro: Patch it through.

Comms Officer: Aye, sir.

 _IHC A268, Admiral W. Tarkin – ISD Geonosis_

 _Admiral Tarkin: Helm, drop out of hyperspace and signal the fleet to array into standard attack pattern Delta Four and prepare to attack. Tactical, raise all shields and charge all weapons systems. Operations, have the Stormtrooper detachment standing by to repel boarders._

 _Helmsman: Slowing to sub-light speed. The enemy vessel is entering visual range._

 _Tactical Officer: Shields up, all weapons at the ready, sir._

 _Comms Officer: The fleet has responded, admiral. Their entering formation and standing by for your orders._

 _Admiral Tarkin: Very good. Let's wrap this up, then. Helm, come about and prepare to make a single strafing run of the vessel's port quarter. Deploy all fighter squadron and have them focus their attacks on the enemy bridge and engines. Order all forward batteries to concentrate fire on the shield generators and weapons to cover the fighters' attack._

 _Tactical Officer: All fighters away, sir. Scanning for the enemy primary systems . . . sir, this is strange. I'm not detecting a bridge, shield generators, any primary systems or facilities at all._

 _Admiral Tarkin: Impossible. Your scanners must be malfunctioning. I knew it was too soon to send out these new Star Destroyers. New ships always have too many failings to be trusted in battle. Array the fighters in attack pattern Theta One and order the assault. Status of the enemy vessel?_

 _Operations Officer: They're holding position, sir. No obvious activity of any kind. They're just sitting there._

 _Admiral Tarkin: Order the fleet to move in and commence the attack. This should be easier than I thought._

 _Operations Officer: All squadrons are moving in, sir. The fleet is approaching the enemy ship. The enemy still isn't responding._

 _Admiral Tarkin: They must be damaged somehow. Perhaps one of the colonies put up more of a fight than we suspected, or that inept foot soldier actually managed to hurt them before he turned tail and ran._

 _Comms Officer: Sir, I'm picking up a transmission from the Borg ship. They're overriding all chann-_

 _Borg Vessel: We are the Borg. You will be assimilated. Lower your shields and surrender your ships. We will add your biological and technological distinctiveness to our own. Your cultures will adapt to service us. Resistance is futile._

 _Tactical Officer: Sir, the enemy ship is coming about. I'm reading a massive energy surge in their shield grid. I've never seen anything like this before, sir. They've released some kind of pulse that – sir, I've lost contact with all squadrons!_

 _Comms Officer: I'm getting the same report from all ships, admiral. All of our fighters have been destroyed._

 _Admiral Tarkin: How is that possible?_

 _Tactical Officer: The pulse is still coming at us. Brace for impact! Sir, we've lost our shields._

 _Admiral Tarkin: Which ones?_

 _Tactical Officer: All of them, sir! The entire grid is down! I can't raise them again._

 _Operations Officer: Incoming fire!_

 _Admiral Tarkin: Damage report!_

 _Operations Officer: Hull breaches in sections twenty-four through thirty seven, all lower decks._

 _Admiral Tarkin: Come about, heading 140 mark 031. Target all batteries on their primary reactors! Order the Saber and the Knight to take up flanking positions and concentrate fire on –_

 _Tactical Officer: The Saber has been destroyed, sir! They took a direct hit to their primary reactor. The Knight is taking heavy damage and we've lost two other cruisers!_

 _Admiral Tarkin: How is that possible?! Make a pass at the Borg ship. Fire a full spread of proton torpedoes across their axis and fire all batteries!_

 _Tactical Officer: Aye, sir. No effect on their shields! No apparent damage!_

 _Operations Officer: Sir, that last volley took out two of our engines and our second shield generator. One more hit and we'll be dead in the water._

 _Tactical Officer: Casualty reports coming in from all decks. Batteries 12 through 26 are non-responsive and batteries 10, 11, 28 have been completely destroyed._

 _Operations Officer: Admiral, we just lost the Chancellor and the Kaadu. The Kamino and the Racer are dead in the water and the Jedi is reporting boarders!_

 _Admiral Tarkin: Helm, get us out of here!_

 _Helmsman: Engines are gone, sir. Engine Room reports that reactors are approaching critical._

 _Admiral Tarkin: All hands, abandon ship! Abandon shi-_

TRANSMISSION TERMINATED

Commander Jarro: Helm, trace the source of that transmission and lay in a course. Contact the Chief and tell him we'll need all the power he can muster. Attention all hands, this is your captain. I am about to commit a direct violation of our orders, possibly endangering all of our careers in doing so. If any crewmen wish to object to this course of action, I will offer you an opportunity to do so now. Your objection will be noted in my log.

Helmsman: Sir, if I may speak freely. I believe that I speak for the entire crew when I say [REDACTED] our orders. Course is laid in and the Chief is standing by for your word.

Commander Jarro: The word is given. Engage course at maximum speed. Ops, have Colonel Tanon come to my office. Tell him to bring Captain Regis with him. Inform me when we get close to the target area.

Captain's Log

Commander Daren Jarro – Acting Commanding Officer

Time: 2130 hours

Date: CLASSIFIED

We have received the final transmission from Admiral Tarkin's fleet, and I must say that the situation appears grim indeed. The transmission was cut off after the admiral gave the order to abandon ship and it appears that several of the ships in his squadron were either destroyed or severely damaged. We have tried repeatedly to reestablish communication with the fleet, but so far we have been unsuccessful. Preliminary scans are indeterminate. The site of the battle appears to be several lightyears beyond the maximum range of our sensors and we have been unable to establish contact with any ships or outposts in the area. We have sent warnings to both the Admiralty and to Akkadian base requesting reinforcements.

I still can't believe what I heard in that last transmission. I had expected a possible loss on our side, but to have an entire fleet of Imperial warships swept aside so easily? I've seen battles where whole battalions were wiped out, watched the flashes in the sky as battles raged in space where an entire fleet was destroyed by Republic forces, but that had been a battle in which thousands of ships had fought long and hard to destroy each other. How could one ship destroy a whole squadron of Imperial warships? Warships that had themselves been built to take on several ships apiece. These Borg are shaping up to be the most dangerous enemies that I have ever seen or even heard of. I still can't believe the way that they fight. They show no fear, no conscience, no hesitation, not even any apparent regard for their own survival. I remember the way they came at us on the bridge that first day. They walked right into the teeth of our blasters without a blink, watched me while I cut down one after the other of them and still came at me without an ounce of give in them. I remember those cold, dead eyes, that blank stare, it was as if they were already dead.

I have been studying all the data that has been gathered on the Borg and the transcripts of our past engagements, looking for any weaknesses that I might exploit. Every engagement has been perfect on their side. Their technology has been proven time and again to be leaps and bounds ahead of our own. Their weapons, shields, engines, everything that I have seen so far has been vastly superior to anything that we have. My thoughts keep going to the Outer Reaches, where I assume that damned ship came from, and what might lurk there still. If just one of these ships can do so much damage to our frontier forces then I shudder to think of what a full invasion fleet could do to us. I've gone over everything at least twice. Their technology is flawless, their tactics are direct and aggressive, their coordination is seamless and perfectly executed. However, even the best machine has one flaw. Even the greatest fighting force in existence has a weakness. I think I have found the Borg's weakness and I have formulated a plan that I believe will work, but I will need help to put it into action. My superiors would have me flogged and courts-martialed for what I'm about to do, but I fear that if I do not do this then the fate of the entire galaxy could hang in the balance.

Automated Security Transcript – Captain's Office, ISD _Coruscant_

TOP SECRET! LEVEL RED CASSIFIED!

Please enter clearance code: ***************

ACCESS GRANTED

Commander Jarro: Colonel, captain, thank you for joining me on such short notice. Captain Regis, you look none the worse for wear. May I offer you something? Tea, some food?

Captain Regis: I'm fine, thank you. All I need is an explanation.

Commander Jarro: Understandable. Gentlemen, as I'm sure you're both aware approximately one hour ago we received a transmission from Admiral Tarkin's fleet covering their engagement with the Borg. It is unknown as to whether they survived the engagement. We have all seen the Borg in action. Admiral Tarkin was overconfident and foolhardy in attacking them the way he did. I have set a course for their last known location and we should be arriving there within the next seven hours or so. We have that long to prepare for an engagement of our own with the Cube.

Colonel Tanon: Sir, permission to speak freely? If the admiral and an entire battle fleet couldn't beat that ship, then how the hell is a single cruiser going to stand a chance? As I recall, the last time we tangled with those cybernetic bastards we got our asses handed to us.

Commander Jarro: Too true, but this time we have a plan of attack. I've studied the tactics and the methods of the Borg and all of the information that we have on them and I believe that I've discovered a weakness that we can use against them. According to Dr. Sabeer, these creatures have a hive mentality and seem to function as a single entity. All of the drones, if such they are, are interconnected through some kind of hyperspace communications system that is far more advanced than anything we've ever seen. This signal is what allows them to seamlessly operate with perfect cohesion. I've had our communications people looking for the source or the frequency of the signal, but so far they have been unsuccessful.

Captain Regis: If we can find that signal and shut it down then we can take down their entire system.

Commander Jarro: Exactly. That is where you come in, Captain.

Captain Regis: What do you mean?

Commander Jarro: Your auditory implants. During the attack they picked up the Borg signal loud and clear. For a few minutes there you were actually listening to the Borg comms channel. If we can isolate that channel, using your implants, then we just might have a chance at winning this fight.

Captain Regis: Those were the worst few minutes of my life, Jarro. I wasn't listening to a comms channel. I heard millions, billions of voices in my head all at once. I could hear the thoughts of every one of them. I could hear all of their voices, their commands, the orders being sent, the data being sent back from millions of ships in galaxies we've never heard of, all of it rushing through my head like a hyperspace hub. I had no sense of who I was or even that I was an individual at all. I saw things. I saw a woman in some kind of armor with tubes and machines coming out of her head, half of her body gone and what was left suspended on cables with a mechanical spine protruding from her, and she was looking right at me with the deadest pair of eyes I've ever seen in my life. It was like she was looking into my very soul. I can't do that again.

Commander Jarro: Captain, I know that it will be difficult for you. I can't imagine what that must have felt like for you, but if we can do this then we have a genuine shot at defeating the Borg and destroying that damned Cube. We have to do this, captain, if not just for us then for the fate of our own galaxy.

Colonel Tanon: Sir?

Commander Jarro: So far, the Borg have been avoiding all major confrontation. They attacked and seemingly carried off an entire system's worth of outlying colonies, remote colonies that no one really cares about and could have gone months without being missed, and then stayed in that remote system for months without moving or exploring further. They sent powerful transmissions into deep space for seemingly no reason, but when a military presence appears they go into full attack mode. They almost destroyed our ship, follow our retreat into the Empire, and then proceed to destroy colony after colony and to capture or assimilate every piece of technology that they find. All of their actions so far have been those of a scouting expedition. If this is just a scout vessel on a reconnaissance mission, then just imagine what a fleet of warships mounting an invasion could do to the Empire. This one ship has destroyed an entire fleet of our most advanced warships and circumvented all of our technology and security measures. So far, they have only seen the Outer Rim territories. If they get to the Core and see Coruscant, or Geonosis, or Malastare, then they will call in the full power of their military and come crashing down on us.

Colonel Tanon: If these bastards hit us hard enough, they could punch all the way through to the Core without even trying. Half the Navy is strung out to hell and gone hunting for the Rebels and their secret bases. The other half is guarding convoys to the farthest reaches of the galaxy against attacks by the Rebel fleet. An organized defense would take weeks to put together. By the time the time the Navy got its act together and started kicking ass, there'd be cyborgs on Coruscant and green lights in the Senate building.

Captain Regis: And the only significant force left to fight them would be the Rebel fleet, and they're barely hanging on as it is. I doubt that every ship we have could stand up to even one of those cubes.

Commander Jarro: Then you see the repercussions if this ship is allowed to survive.

Captain Regis: What exactly is your plan?

Commander Jarro: So far, this is what I have: the _Coruscant_ will engage the Borg and, using the recommendations of Colonel Tanon nad Dr. Sabeer, we will hold off the Cube as long as we can while we use Captain Regis' implants to scan for the Borg's hyperspace frequency. Captain, it will mean going through your ordeal again, probably for several minutes, but it is the only way that I can think of for us to find that frequency.

Captain Regis: If it will help to defeat the Borg . . . . . I will give it a try.

Commander Jarro: Thank you, captain. Colonel, I imagine that the _Coruscant_ will sustain heavy damage and we will more than likely have to repel boarders again.

Colonel Tanon: Bring them on, sir. They take one step aboard this ship and we'll blast them to pieces and blow what's left out the airlock.

Commander Jarro: Just leave some for me, brother. We're going into a battle from which we may not walk away, gentlemen. We will have one shot and only one at pulling this off. This will test our crew like they have never been tested before, but I am confident that we perform exemplarily. Captain, you will be free to wander the ship as you see fit. As of this moment, you are no longer a prisoner of war but a colleague aboard ship. Make your preparations and get your men ready for action. Use any and all resources you may require. May the Force be with us.

Captain's Log

Commander Daren Jarro – Acting Commanding Officer

Time: 0554 hours

Date: CLASSIFIED

It has been a long night. For the past six hours we have been preparing the ship for a battle like no other we or any other ship if the Imperial Navy has ever seen. I have come to love and respect every member of my crew, from my acting first officer to the lowest enlisted man, and I have come to expect nothing short of the finest performance from them. Each of us have lost friends to these Borg and all of us are eager to make them pay for what they have done. All of the souls that have been lost over the past few weeks deserve some form of revenge. The Borg have taken so much from us and so many others. Taking them down would not only protect the people of the Empire from a certain invasion, but would provide security for the galaxy for years to come.

On a personal note, I have come to realize that I have come into my own since assuming command of this ship. I was, by all accounts, an exemplary officer in the Stormtrooper Corps and have been decorated many times, but somehow serving aboard this ship has brought something out in me that I had forgotten was ever there. For the first time in years I have a fire in my guts that makes me love what I do and truly believe in the cause. I have a belief that I haven't had since my first days out of the academy. I am in command of a ship of the line with a crew of the finest officers and men that this Navy has to offer and I have the chance to become the official commander of the _Coruscant_ once all of this is over. If I am still alive to be promoted, that is.

I have spoken to Colonel Tanon and all of the _Coruscant's_ Stormtroopers and they have reset their weapons to random modulations and have been running boarding drills all night. Weapons have been issued to all personnel with appropriate training, including myself, and all of the ship's tactical systems have been reprogrammed, simulations have been run, and the crew is prepared for what is to come.

We have reached the last known location of Admiral Tarkin's fleet, and thus far we have received no transmissions of any kind from them nor have we picked up any definitive readings on sensors. I am about to give the order to drop out of lightspeed. I hope that the scene is something that I do not expect.

Captain's Log

Commander Daren Jarro – Acting Commanding Officer

Time: 0722 hours

Date: CLASSIFIED

As I expected, the fleet was a total loss. There was no evidence of the Borg vessel whatsoever, but the admiral's fleet has been reduced to little more than a massive debris field. We have identified the remains of the _Geonosis_ , the _Knight_ , the _Saber_ , and several other vessels, but of the crews there is no sign. We detected no emergency beacons for hours, but as we were about to give up on the search we picked up a single beacon from the edge of the debris field. The beacon was of a single escape pod with a single occupant. It was Admiral Tarkin's pod.

There was not a single pod aside from the admiral's. There were tens of thousands of men on those ships, men that were all trained and experienced officers and crew. One curious thing is that we found almost no intact escape pods. A large percentage of the debris we found was from extremely small craft, craft the size and dimensions of an escape pod. It would appear that the Borg took the time to destroy nearly all of the pods before leaving the area. The few that we did find intact contained nothing but corpses. Dr. Sabeer assures me that the men were dead when they jettisoned, the result of injuries sustained from the launch or the shockwaves from the exploding ships, but something tells me that a few of them were still alive when the Borg's weapons tore them apart. The admiral himself was badly injured, barely alive, when we found him. The good doctor is doing all that he can for him, but his chances of surviving are still up in the air.

When we brought him aboard, the admiral was just cognizant enough to recount the events of the battle. Most of it was identical to what we had heard on the hyperspace channel, but the aftermath was somewhat more unsettling. The admiral confirmed that the Borg had indeed gone around and destroyed most of the escape pods, but he also said that there were much fewer of them than we had anticipated. Most of the ships had been destroyed so quickly that the crew didn't have time to even begin an escape cycle, much less get to the pods. He was delirious when the rescue teams brought him in and he is now recuperating in the Infirmary. Dr. Sabeer says that he has a combination of shock, exhaustion, and dehydration coupled with injuries sustained in the movement of the pod. He all but passed out when they brought him aboard.

Operations has had a tough time triangulating the direction of travel of the Cube following the engagement. We've located the distinct power signature of the ship's engines, but the exact heading they took is unknown. Something in their technology is somehow disrupting our sensors or scrambling the signature of their hyperspace engines. I've looked over the charts and have been unable to find any potential target that they could be going for. There are no bases or colonies within a few days' travel and there is no military presence of any size within several light years of this area. The only base of any size or importance is Akkadian Base. It's possible that they will try to hit Akkadian Base, but not without plenty of advance warning from our security droids and sensor stations.

Reports are still coming in, but upon a cursory examination of the data currently at hand I have been able to put together an educated guess as to how the battle unfolded. The Geonosis was in several large pieces that all appeared to have taken significant damage, indicating that the ship took several severe hits before finally exploding. We have cross-referenced our findings with the information obtained from the transmission we intercepted and have found that ship did indeed sustain severe damage before being destroyed. Several other ships, including the _Saber_ and the _Knight_ , seem to have been destroyed with the first hit. Both of them were Venator-class cruisers. The Venator-class always had shields that were much weaker than those of other ships of the line, much less likely to withstand weapons of the magnitude used by the Borg. The _Chancellor_ , the fleet's Decatur-class heavy cruiser, seems to have put up the most of a fight out of most of the fleet. They seem to have taken at least two or three hits before going down.

It is still hard to believe that ships designed to withstand the forces of the Trade Federation and the Seperatist Fleet could be destroyed so easily by a single ship. These Borg are the worst type of species, in my opinion. They are highly advanced, extremely aggressive, and they are utterly ruthless. Not even the Seperatists would have massacred the survivors in the escape pods like that. The Rules of Interstellar War are very clear on the proper conduct for dealing with the survivors of such battles. Cowards!

But, then again, these Borg are very likely from a different world or even a different galaxy altogether from us. They wouldn't know our rules of war and probably don't have any rules of martial conduct of any kind at all. They are a perfect war machine. They have been designed somehow to operate as one mind and as one entity, with no individual thought being carried out but rather the hive mind thinking for every member of the collective body. Tactically speaking, this makes them a perfect fighting force. Armies have tried for thousands of years to achieve that level of unison and still never come close. Their blatant disregard for their defeated foes shows a cold detachment that I hate to admit that I have seen in elite soldiers during my time on the front lines. Those guys were calm, cool, and collected even in the fiercest firefights and I watched some of them walk through a hail of blaster bolts as easily as if they were taking a midday stroll in a park and proceed to dispatch several of the enemy before being wounded or killed themselves. Those guys operated with a kind of surgical precision that made them appear almost invincible. These Borg are like that. They kill without feeling, without emotion, with a cold detachment that suggests that they place little or no value on life of any kind. All those men, all those colonies they have destroyed, only a monster could do those things. Perhaps that's what these Borg really are. I've always heard the old spacefarers' stories of the beasts and monsters that lived in the black spaces beyond the Far Reaches, creatures and races that were unlike any that anyone has ever seen. I had never believed them, thinking that they were nothing more than the drunken ramblings of men that had been out in the black for too long. No, they were right. There really are monsters in the black.

Automated Security Transcript – _Coruscant_ bridge

Operations Officer: Sir, one of our security drones just reported an enemy contact.

Acting First Officer: Location of target?

Operations Officer: Contact indicated approximately 1.2 ly from here moving at extreme speed toward Akkadia. I've never seen anything move this fast, sir.

Acting First Officer: Get me the captain. Sir, we have an enemy vessel moving at high speed toward the Akkadian Base. I believe it may be the Borg vessel.

 _Commander Jarro: Lay in a pursuit course immediately! Have the Chief push the engines as much as he can. If the Borg are already close to Akkadia then it'll take everything we have to catch them._

Acting First Officer: Aye, sir. Helm, lay in a course for Akkadia at maximum speed. Engine Room, we'll be engaging the hyperdrive engines in a moment. We'll be needing everything you can give us. The bogey is traveling at high speed.

 _Chief Engineer: I'll give you all I can, sir, but the engines are in bad shape. It's likely to be a bumpy ride._

Acting First Officer: We'll deal with it, Chief. Engaging course now. Helm, engage course at maximum speed.

Helmsman: Aye, sir. Course to Akkadia locked in and engaged.

Captain's Log

Commander Daren Jarro – Acting Commanding Officer

Time: 0911 hours

Date: CLASSIFIED

The worst has happened, I fear. The Borg have been spotted moving toward the Akkadian System at breakneck speed and do not appear to show any signs of stopping or altering course. I believe it is obvious that they intend to attack and destroy the base, a blow which would cripple our defensive capabilities in this sector of space. Our fleet has been destroyed, the nearest reinforcements are days away, and now our only major base in the region is in danger. This is a dire time for the Empire, even if the Emperor and the Senate have no idea of what is going on. We have appraised the Admiralty of the situation but so far have heard nothing back from them. There has been no word on when or even if reinforcements will be sent, no advice on a course of action, not even a reprimand for disobeying the orders of Admiral Tarkin and returning to the area of operations. It's as if they have gone completely silent.

Speaking of the admiral, I suppose I had better report on his condition. Dr. Sabeer has stabilized him and he has been treated for his exhaustion and exposure. He still refuses to elaborate on the destruction of his fleet, however. Typical fleet officer. Anyone with half a brain will see that he was arrogant and foolhardy to have led his ships into such a battle without seeking the counsel of those who had faced the Cube before, counting on the mere fact that he is an admiral and that he commanded Imperial forces to guarantee his victory. I've known too many fools like him on the front lines. They look on any foe that isn't of the Empire as little more than stupid, naked savages who can be beaten easily. They said that about the Wookies in the Kashyyk Revolt and I watched thousands of men be led to the slaughter through the orders of men just like him. They've been saying it about the Rebellion, and yet every day the Rebels gain ground and their forces grow more and more. Now they'll say it about the Borg, and I fear that that may just be the most grave mistake of all.

We have been tracking the progress of the Cube since it was first spotted on our scopes, and I must say that their technology has once again astonished me. The speed at which they move is truly incredible. To reach Akkadia from the site of the battle we just left would take a normal ship at least a day at full speed but these Borg have managed to cover more than half the distance in only a few hours. Chief Dekker tells me that if he were to measure their current speed according to our own reckoning then it would equal out to Hyperspace Travel Factor 12, more than three times the maximum rating of our most powerful ships (the _Coruscant_ included). We have lain in a pursuit course and are pressing our engines as far as we safely can, but there is little to no hope that we will be able to catch them.

It is apparent now that whatever happens now will be decided by the _Coruscant_ and her crew. I have every confidence that my men will distinguish themselves with honor in the coming battle and that they will be a testament to the Empire and her military forces, but I believe that this may be a battle which we cannot win. The _Coruscant_ is a fine ship and she has a fine crew, but we have faced the Borg alone before and barely survived the encounter. Now an entire fleet has been swept aside like so many flies by the Borg ship and many thousands of innocent settlers have been massacred since they came into our space. How can our one ship hope to stand a chance against such an enemy? I confess that for the first time in my life and my career as a soldier and as an officer that I am unsure as just how to proceed. Victory has always been a matter of discipline, strategy, and tenacity for me and I have pursued all of these with fervor in every engagement I have faced in past. Against this enemy, however, all of these may be less than useless.

 _Acting First Officer: Sir, we just received a priority distress call from Akkadian Base. The Borg have entered the system and are powering weapons._

I'm on my way, Lieutenant Commander.

Automated Security Transcript – _Coruscant_ Bridge

Commander Jarro: Report.

Acting First Officer: Priority distress call from the Akkadian System, sir. Enemy ship has entered the system and appears to be taking up an offensive posture. Base defenses have been activated and their crew is preparing to engage.

Commander Jarro: They don't stand a chance. Helm, how far to the Akkadian System?

Helmsman: At our best speed, sir, we're still six hours away at least.

Commander Jarro: They'll be dead in less than one. If we're to have a chance of beating them now, we will need that base on our side. Engine Room, I need more speed out of those engines.

Chief Engineer: Sir, we're already running these engines at their maximum recommended levels. If we push them any harder then we could risk catastrophic damage to the ship.

Commander Jarro: If we disengage the safety systems, how much more speed could we get?

Chief Engineer: If we take down the safety restraints and let them run at full capacity, then we could increase their output by as much as 120%. I strongly advise against that, sir. Our shields aren't designed to withstand that kind of pressure and if the shields fail then our hull won't be able to take it. The gravimetric sheer will tear us apart.

Commander Jarro: It's a risk we'll have to take, Chief.

Chief Engineer: Alright, sir. I repeat that I strongly advised against this. Disengaging safety systems, rerouting energy reserves, accelerating all engines now.

Helmsman: Speed accelerating to Hyperspace Factor 9, Factor 10, Factor 11 . . .

Operations Officer: Our shield are at maximum, sir. Hull pressure is critical, structural integrity is failing.

Commander Jarro: Shut down all non-essential systems and transfer power to the shield grid structural integrity systems. Helm, how long to the Akkadian System?

Helmsman: At this speed, two more hours, sir. If we could get her up to Factor 12, we could be there in thirty minutes.

Commander Jarro: Chief, we need more speed.

Chief Engineer: She can't take much more of this, sir!

Commander Jarro: Chief!

Chief Engineer: I'm giving you all she's got, sir!

Commander Jarro: She can take a bit more, Chief. All we need is a little more. They say these are the best ships in the fleet, so let's prove them right!

Helmsman: We're at Factor 11.4 . . . 11.6 . . . 11.8 . . . we have reached Factor 12, sir.

Operations Officer: Structural integrity is at critical, captain! Shields are in the red and our hull armor is starting to buckle. I'm doing all I can, but she can't take this for long.

Commander Jarro: Don't worry. She'll hold together. Just a little longer, honey, just a little longer.

Helmsman: We're still fifteen minutes away from the Akkadian System.

Commander Jarro: Just a few more minutes, baby. Hold together!

Tactical Officer: All weapons charged and ready, sir. All batteries report ready and the all onboard Stormtroopers standing by to repel boarders. Captain Regis is on his way to the bridge.

Helmsman: Five minutes from target, sir.

Commander Jarro: Stand by all weapons and stand ready to transfer all power to the shields on my command. Helm, prepare for evasive maneuvers and watch for those power surges. Chief, we're almost there. Can you give me any more?

Chief Engineer: We're already exceeding all known safety limits, sir. Our primary core is overheating and our engines are at critical. I honestly don't know, sir.

Helmsman: We've entered the Akkadian System, captain.

Commander Jarro: Take us out of hyperspace. Tactical, lock all weapons on target. Helm, get ready with those maneuvers. Operations, give me a full scan of the enemy vessel and a status on the base.

Captain Regis: Sorry I'm late. What's going on here – oh, no. We're too late.


	4. Chapter 4

Automated Security Transcript – _Coruscant_ Bridge

Commander Jarro: Operations, give me a readout on that ship right now. Deepest possible scan.

Operations Officer: Aye, sir. Scanning now. The energy weapon is comprised of some kind of plasma energy, unknown energy signature, extremely powerful. I'm reading a targeting beam focusing on Akkadian Base. They're targeting the primary power core.

Commander Jarro: Tactical, charge weapons and raise all shields. Helm, assume an offensive posture and prepare for Attack Pattern Zeta Four. Prepare for evasive action.

Operations Officer: Sir, they're opening fire.

[WARNING: Massive surge detected in planetary atmosphere/ recommend evasive action/ surface impacted detected/ analyzing damaged area . . . . . Total damage area: 41.2km x 46.5km x 11km/ Total life signs detected: 0]

Captain Regis: By the Force . . .

Commander Jarro: Ops, I want a full scan of the surface and prepare a triage team. Have the shuttle bays prepare a rescue craft.

Operations Officer: No need, sir. The base is completely destroyed. I'm not reading survivors, any beacons, any sign of life whatsoever. That blast wiped out everything for a fifty-kilometer radius and left a crater eleven kilometers deep.

Commander Jarro: Just like Saccaris. Tactical, lock all weapons on the Borg ship and prepare to fire. Helm, engage Attack Pattern Zeta Four. We're taking these bastards down.

Helmsman: Aye, sir, engaging Pattern Zeta Four no- sir, the enemy ship is opening some kind of hyperspace conduit. I'm having trouble maintaining a sensor lock on them.

Tactical Officer: I can't lock weapons either, sir. There's some strange kind of energy grid surrounding their hull. Their shields are phasing in and out of hyperspace.

Helmsman: Sir, they're moving into the conduit?

Commander Jarro: Damn right, we do. Helm, you follow that ship into that conduit and don't let them out of your sight. Chief, can we take the stresses of entering that conduit?

Chief Engineer: I'm reading gravimetric shear in that conduit like nothing I've ever seen before, sir. If we try to enter that thing now with our standard shields, we'll be torn to bits in a matter of minutes.

Commander Jarro: What if we can enter it on the heels of the Borg ship? They appear to have shields that can withstand the shear. Would that work?

Chief Engineer: If we time it right, then it's possible but we'd have to time it perfectly. One slip-up and we'll all be atomized before we even realize that we [REDACTED] up.

Commander Jarro: Copy that, Chief. We'll do our best. Helm, can you do that?

Helmsman: I'll damn sure try, sir.

Commander Jarro: Good enough for me, ensign. All hands, this is your captain. Brace for extreme turbulence. Are they going into the conduit?

Helmsman: Aye, sir. They're entering now. Hang on!

[Enemy vessel entering unknown anomaly/ Estimated speed: UNKNOWN/ Matching velocity/ Anomaly entered/ Core Engine Temperature: CRITICAL/ Hull Pressure: CRITICAL/ Spatial Turbulence: EXTREME]

Commander Jarro: Report!

Helmsman: We're traveling at an unbelievable velocity, sir! We're riding in the Borg ship's wake, but just barely. according to my sensors, we've already traveled 0.5 light-years.

Commander Jarro: Can you tell me anything about our destination?

Helmsman: We appear to be heading back toward Saccaris, sir.

Captain Regis: I don't understand this, Jarro. We're practically eating their exhaust, so why aren't they attacking us? At this speed, one hit would be all it would take to obliterate us.

Commander Jarro: I don't know, but I have a theory. Helm, steady as she goes. Keep us in that wake and don't falter, or we're all dead. Tactical, power down all weapons and keep the shields on standby.

Tactical Officer: Sir?

Commander Jarro: Trust me, lieutenant. Power down the weapons, but have the crews stand ready to engage. Keep the shields at low power, but stand ready to take them to full power. Helm, speed?

Helmsman: I can't believe what I'm seeing here, sir. We've traveled two and a half light-years since entering the conduit. Two and three quarters, three light-years . . . four light-years! We've gone more than a week's journey in just a few minutes. At this rate, we'll be in Saccaris within the next half an hour.

Commander Jarro: Keep me posted, ensign. Captain Regis, are you getting anything from them?

Captain Regis: I can hear them, but it's faint. It's like a loud party on the other side of the wall. I can hear the noise, but I can't understand what's being said.

Commander Jarro: Are you ready for this, sir?

Captain Regis: No, but what the hell? We're all in now. Let's see how the hand plays out.

Captain's Log

Commander Daren Jarro – Acting Commanding Officer

Time: 0935 hours

Date: CLASSIFIED

Today history has been made in more ways than one. A single ship has wiped out an entire squadron of Imperial warships and come out of the encounter practically unscathed, an Imperial base has been completely destroyed by a ship from an unknown species with a single hit, and now a brand-new Star Destroyer has broken the hyperspace speed record a dozen times over by following that ship into a hyperspace conduit. It's kind of funny, in a way. I always dreamed of doing something that would make history. I always imagined that it would be something to do with a military victory or some marvelous new strategy. I never dreamed that it would be anything like this. We are heading back toward the Saccaris system at breakneck speed, a faster speed than anyone in recorded history has ever achieved, and I have absolutely no idea why.

A few possibilities come to mind, and none of them are any good. Either the enemy ship is on a return course to wherever they came from, in which case we will have to find a way to exit this conduit before we pass into the Outer Reaches, the ship is returning to the site of their original attacks to conduct repairs and resupply (if they even require those), or, most frightening, they are returning to their original entry point to our space to await the arrival of reinforcements. That signal they were sending out into deep space . . . . . what if it was a call to the others of their species telling them that an invasion is possible? I can't imagine what would happen if an entire fleet of them entered our space. It would mean the end of the Empire, the end of the Rebellion, the end of the galaxy as a whole. We have one chance to stop this attack, just one, and I do not plan to squander it.

If this is to be my final log entry as the commander of this ship, I want it to be known that I have never been more proud of any of the men that I have ever served with. These men have served with more courage and distinction than any crew ever could under the same circumstances. My ship and my crew have done credit to the Empire and to the training we have given them. Should we survive this ordeal, I plan to put several of my men up for commendations and promotions. They have all earned it. Even if I am stripped of my command once we return to Inner Core, as I'm sure the admiral will insist upon, I will face my courts-martial with pride and resolution. All my life I have dreamed of serving my people and the Empire and I have done so, proudly, as have every man and woman under my command. In the event that we do not survive this, however, I want it to be known that we went to our deaths with full hearts and sound minds. May the Force be with us.

Automated Security Transcript – _Coruscant_ Bridge

Commander Jarro: Operations, give me a sitrep.

Operations Officer: The Cube is slowing down, sir. We're approaching the Saccaris system. We should be there in the next few minutes.

Tactical Officer: Shall I raise shields, sir?

Commander Jarro: Not yet, lieutenant. Stand by for my order and keep the crews to their guns. Helm, are you ready to exit the conduit?

Helmsman: I am, sir. I'm watching their speed carefully. I think I can get us out of the conduit at the same instant.

Commander Jarro: You think?

Helmsman: Aye, sir.

Commander Jarro: Chief, what will happen to us if we can't exit at the same time as the Cube?

Chief Engineer: Well, sir, we'll all be atomized particles before we even realize that we've made a mistake. At this speed, the entire ship will be torn apart at the welds and anything organic will be reduced to the cellular level.

Commander Jarro: Good to know. Helm, steady as she goes. Anything, Captain?

Captain Regis: It's still garbled. I can hear the voices, but not the words. My head is pounding, though. I'll be fine. It must be the speed.

Helmsman: We're coming up on the Saccaris system, sir. The Cube should be exiting the conduit in three, two, one. Hold on!

[WARNING: Speed reduced 127%/structural integrity weakening/rapid deceleration is not recommended/speed drastically reduced/structural integrity:74%]

Helmsman: We're clear of the conduit, sir. The Cube is returning to their original position in the system. They're assuming orbit of Saccaris Beta.

Comms Officer: Sir, I'm reading the same transmission as before coming from the Cube. They're transmitting it into deep space.

Captain Regis: Ahhhh!

Commander Jarro: Captain?

Captain Regis: I can hear them! Ahhh! They're saying . . . they're calling for more . . . a queen . . . . they're reporting on us . . . weak . . . assimilation . . . ahhh, I can't take it any more!

Commander Jarro: Stay with it, Captain. Comms, can you get a fix on their frequency?

Comms Officer: Scanning now, sir. It's highly encoded. They're operating on a frequency that I've never seen. I'm isolating the signal, cleaning out the bandwidth . . .

Captain Regis: Delta . . . Delta Quadrant . . . something about . . . a collective. They know! They know I'm listening! I can hear her voice! She's in my mind!

Commander Jarro: Comms, work faster. Tactical, stand ready.

Comms Officer: I'm reading a second transmission, captain. It seems to be a reply to the original transmission. I can't isolate a source.

Helmsman: I'm reading a second conduit, sir. It's massive. I'm reading multiple signatures, all with the same propulsion profile as the Cube. It appears to be five, no six . . . eight . . . twelve signals, sir.

Commander Jarro: That has to be their invasion fleet. We're out of time. Comms, get me that signal! Tactical, charge all weapons and raise shields. All hands, general quarters. I repeat, general quarters all hands to battle stations. Tactical, target the Cube's primary shield generators and all the weapons you can find. Proton torpedoes, full spread.

Tactical Officer: Targets locked, sir. Firing. Good effect on target, sir. Their shields have been disabled, weapons unaffected. We're being targeted! Brace for impact!

[impact: dorsal shield grid/shield strength: 78%]

Tactical Officer: Shields are holding, sir. All batteries continuing to fire.

[impact: ventral shield grid/shield strength: 62%/impact: dorsal shield grid/shield strength: 54%]

Commander Jarro: Report!

Tactical Officer: We're doing damage, but not enough. Their shields have reactivated somehow. Their armor is just too strong.

Commander Jarro: Keep at it. Helm, evasive action. Captain, how are you doing?

Captain Regis: They're . . . they're in my head, Commander . . . they're trying to lock me out.

Comms Officer: I've almost got a fix on the frequency, sir. Got it! I have the –

[impact: dorsal shield grid/ shield strength: 0%/ hull breach detected, sections 34-38]

Tactical Officer: Multiple hull breaches! We have casualties on decks 24 and 26. Shields are down!

Operations Officer: Sir, energy surges detected! They're coming aboard!

[INTRUDER ALERT! Intruders detected: all decks]

Commander Jarro: Arm yourselves! Stormtroopers to the bridge!

[SECURITY ALERT! Weapons fire detected: main bridge/ weapons fire detected: all decks]

Colonel Tanon: Give 'em hell, boys! Captain, get down! Come on, you sons of bitches! Come on!

[cancel intruder alert/ intruders no longer detected]

Commander Jarro: Report!

Tactical Officer: Main power is offline, both shield generators have been destroyed, engines are gone. We're at sub-light speeds only.

Colonel Tanon: I'm getting casualty reports. I've got sixteen dead, 86 wounded.

Operations Officer: We have 124 dead, 76 wounded, sir. Reports of dead Borg on decks 84, 27, and 14.

Helmsman: Commander, they're coming about again. I'm reading no weapons locks.

Commander Jarro: They're watching us. They know we're a sitting duck. Chief, is there any way we can manage lightspeed?

Chief Engineer: Maybe one short burst, sir. The engines are fried and the manifolds are overheated. Anything more than a few seconds and the main reactors will blow.

Captain Regis: Orders, captain?

Commander Jarro: There's only one thing we can do. All hands, this is Commander Jarro. Abandon ship. I repeat, abandon ship.

Captain's Log

Commander Daren Jarro – Acting Commanding Officer

Time: 1138 hours

Date: CLASSIFIED

This will be my final entry. I have saved all data entries into the secure servers in the shielded databanks. I'm sure this record will survive. All hands have been ordered into the escape pods and I have given the order to abandon the _Coruscant._ The conduit we detected remains open, drawn by the signal being transmitted by the Borg ship. We have damaged them, but not severely enough to disable them. They could destroy us at any moment, and yet they hold back. I don't know why. I doubt that I ever will.

I have ordered my staff to transfer all controls of the _Coruscant_ to the computer and to the Operations console at the Helm. I have told them all to leave the vessel, against their protest, and I believe that they have followed that order. Captain Regis protested the most. He is a good man, better than many that I have served with. Imperial Intelligence has a lot of thing wrong about him. I hope that whoever reads this will take that into account if he is brought to courts-martial.

I have ordered my men to the surface of Saccaris Beta. The planet has a temperate atmosphere, a good climate, plenty of resources. They will be able to survive once they reach the surface. That is, if I can hold off the Borg and their fleet. An entire fleet of those Cubes? The very thought turns my stomach. If just one ship could do this to us . . . what kind of damage could an entire fleet do? Catastrophic is the best word that comes to mind. If we fail here, if I fail here, then the galaxy as we know it will cease to exist. We must be successful here. I have enclosed with this log several recommendations for my crew for various citations. It is my last wish that they be honored by the Admiralty. That is a formal request. If my remains are recovered, I ask that they be scattered near the Jedi Temple on my native Coruscant. My father had always hoped that I be trained there. I had the Gift, he said. I suppose that explains a lot. Had the Emperor not come to power, I suppose my life would have been much different.

If this record survives, then I know that I have succeeded. I ask nothing for myself. I ask that my crew be honored and decorated for their service in this, one of our darkest hours. They have performed their duties with unflinching efficiency and have been an example that should be admired by every serviceman in the Imperial Forces. May the Force be with them.

Commander Daren Adara Jarro, Imperial Navy, formerly Colonel of the Stormtrooper Corps, signing off.

Recommendations for decoration:

Colonel Tai Tanon, Stormtrooper Corps – Imperial Medal of Valor

Lieutenant Abron Moros, Helmsman ISD _Coruscant_ – Imperial Medal of Valor

Ensign Idris Orlano, Operations Officer ISD _Coruscant_ – Imperial Service Cross

Ensign Taron Kenobi, Tactical Officer ISD _Coruscant_ – Imperial Service Cross

Captain Jared Regis, Commanding Officer ID _Vindicator –_ Imperial Medal of Valor

26 additional recommendations . . .

Automated Security Transcript – _Coruscant_ Bridge

Captain Regis: Welcome to the bridge, commander.

Commander Jarro: I thought I ordered you to the escape pods. You too, lieutenant.

Helmsman: We thought you could use a hand, sir. We're not about to miss this fight.

Commander Jarro: Technically this is mutiny, but I thank you all the same.

Captain Regis: So what's the plan, boss?

Commander Jarro: Simple, Captain. We're going to take down that ship. I have a plan, but I don't know if it will work.

Captain Regis: I can work with that. Whatever we do will have to be done fast. You know the Borg will go after those pods as soon as they launch.

Commander Jarro: I do. We're going to do all we can for them, but I'm afraid they're on their own. Gentlemen, I want you both to know that it has been an honor to serve with you.

Helmsman: Sir, speaking for myself: the honor was mine.

Captain Regis: Likewise, commander.

Commander Jarro: Very well. Lieutenant, give me all the engine power you can and plot a course for the Cube. Prepare to make the jump to lightspeed.

Helmsman: Aye aye, sir. Course laid in, engines standing by. All weapons at your command.

Commander Jarro: Engage course, lieutenant. Lock all weapons and commence fire.

Captain Regis: Well boys, it's been fun. See you on the other side.

[WARNING: PROXIMITY ALERT!/ current course carries danger of collision/ destruction imminent]

Security Transcript, Encrypted Transmission – ISD _Executioner_ to Imperial Residence

WARNING! LEVEL RED CLASSIFIED!

Please Enter Clearance Code: ***************

Darth Vader: What is thy bidding, my master?

Emperor Palpatine: I have been informed that you have located the remains of the _Coruscant_.

Darth Vader: I have. It would appear that Commander Jarro and his crew used the ship itself to ram and destroy the Borg vessel. Our sensors are showing the presence of lightspeed emissions and damage to hyperspace in the area. We have recovered the secured servers from the _Coruscant_ as well as most of the wreckage from the Borg ship.

Emperor Palpatine: Have you recovered any of the primary systems of the Borg vessel? Weapons, shields, perhaps components of the engines?

Darth Vader: Most of the primary systems appear to have self-destructed upon the destruction of the ship. We did manage to recover several components of their main weapon. We believe it is the same weapon that was used to destroy Akkadian base and several of the ships in Admiral Tarkin's fleet.

Emperor Palpatine: And the admiral himself?

Darth Vader: He has been recovered from the surface of Saccaris Beta, along with several of the _Coruscant_ crew. Rescue efforts are underway to retrieve the rest.

Emperor Palpatine: Cancel any further efforts.

Darth Vader: My lord?

Emperor Palpatine: My friend, this is a most sensitive matter. An alien force has penetrated our space, destroyed our colonies, and defeated our forces with ease. It took the sacrifice of a Star Destroyer to destroy a single ship. We must use caution in dealing with this situation. I want all related files and records pertaining to this incident to be erased, all crucial information deemed classified. Our eyes only. Send the materials you have collected to our research facility on Eadu for further study. The Borg weapon is of particular interest. We may have use for it in our current project. The shields and armor may be of use in the future. Arrange to have the wreckage of the _Dauntless_ and the _Vindicator_ brought to the Saccaris system. Scatter them throughout the system and mingle them with the debris of the _Coruscant_. I want the records to show that the _Coruscant_ was destroyed in a battle with the two Rebel ships. Tarkin's fleet will be lost in an ion storm.

Darth Vader: And the survivors of the _Coruscant_?

Emperor Palpatine: I think you know the answer to that. They have seen far too much. We must not have a panic spread across the galaxy. If the public were to learn that we were nearly undone by a single ship, our war effort would collapse and the Rebels would gain a rather large advantage. The admiral can be silenced. Give him a post and a position that guarantees his silence. All non-essential personnel are to be disposed of.

Darth Vader: Yes, my master. Understood.

OFFICIAL REPORT – SACCARIS INCIDENT, DESTRUCTION OF ISD _CORUSCANT_

ISD _Coruscant_ was dispatched from Alderaan base to investigate a mysterious signal emanating from the Saccaris system. En route, ISD _Coruscant_ discovered that the Imperial base in the Akkadian system had been attacked and destroyed by Rebel ships _Vindicator_ and _Dauntless_. ISD _Coruscant_ tracked the Rebel ships to the Saccaris system and discovered a Rebel communication hub. All colonies in Saccaris system destroyed.

ISD _Coruscant_ engaged and destroyed Rebel ships _Vindicator_ and _Dauntless_ in Saccaris Cluster, suffering catastrophic damage in the process. Captain Leonidas Barron is believed to have scuttled the ship when it was discovered that Rebel reinforcements were en route. Debris from all three ships was discovered by Admiral Tarkin of ISD _Geonosis._ Imperial forces dispatched to search for survivors.

ISD _Coruscant_ was lost with all hands. Captain Barron posthumously decorated with the Imperial Medal of Valor. Current status of the Saccaris Cluster has been deemed Classified: No Traffic Zone. This restriction will remain in effect until further notice.

This concludes all files of: Saccaris Incident, all related files

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